Welcome to the Jungle

So let’s examine this privilege we call Freedom. What is its meaning, what are the implications, where will it lead, who owns it, creates it, practices it, shares it?
Simple answer- We do.

Or rather, we should, we must, we can.

Because when we discuss this Freedom, when we engage in this thing called Freedom, when we insist on this Freedom as our birthright then we have well and truly opened a door that cannot be closed. We have crossed a bridge with no turning back and we have crossed into uncharted territory. There is no map and the timid need not follow because the path will be uncertain at best, horrible at worst and almost always treacherous.
The rewards of this freedom? Greater than anyone can imagine and almost certainly more than we deserve.

Do you want to come and go as you please without the Police asking questions and frisking you down? Congratulations, so do I. And so do THEY. It’s much easier to carry guns and bombs that way.

Do you want to stand up and call your Maximum Leader an ignorant SOB without fear of ending up in jail, tortured or executed?
Please do my friend and remember that not many men around this planet can.

Would you like to lock your doors at night, draw the curtains, smile at your partner and engage in that thing you both really like doing without fear that some SWAT team is going to crash your door because your version of a good time is a little different from the norm?
Amen, I say and fight for your right.

Now what about the guy next door?

True Independence is the property of Adults and can only be fully explored, enjoyed and appreciated- if it ever can- by same.

My question- Who do you want to fuck?

The only answer- Don’t matter, just go right ahead.

You a woman who wants a woman? A man who wants a man? A woman who wants 2 men? A man who wants 2 women? A man that wants to share his woman? A woman that wants to share herself? A couple in search of a third? A couple who only want each other?

The answer’s the same. Have at it.

The results of your exercise of this gracious gift will most likely be unexpected. Having crossed the aforementioned bridge we may find the territory hostile or at least a bit more unforgiving than we were prepared to deal with even if the pleasures were beyond our wildest imaginings.
And we may lose that woman, that man, that feeling…………………forever.

Yea,,,,,,,,,,,, it ain’t free.

The alternative? Bind yourself into a tight little duplicitous box of the mind and let the time grind past you as your soul slowly shrinks. If you manage to die sometime before you explode in rage, frustration and all manners of inappropriate behavior then consider yourself the big winner of a lost life.

Recently I’ve begun blogging, no reason really…….oh, possibly a cry for attention or simply a desire to rid myself of the poison but I’ve discovered that I have a great deal of company in this pursuit. The Internets are the current, convenient and most accessible means of purging the poison and its cyber-reach is VAST. This community is global, legion and far beyond any Governmental or National control and continues to grow larger with each passing day. On the Web, Freedom reigns in all its terrible glory, seeping quietly and creeping easily into every home and gaining a firm foothold in every community.

Morons spout inanities.

Idiots preach hate.

Attention whores celebrate stupidity.

Trolls lurk for the innocent.

And every so often a lone voice speaks reason and this voice rings throughout the world, healing wounds and creating a community where before there was not even the possibility of kinship, brotherhood or, dare we dream, love. A very real solace is achieved through a cheap wire and a few clicks of a button. That lonely kid suddenly realizes he is not alone, that angry boy comes to see that he is not the only one and gains valuable perspective, that lost little girl finds a safe home that is meaningful.

Recently I read an article in the newspaper- Yes, I am analog and still read actual paper newspapers- and found my liberty-loving back pressed firmly to the wall.

The article described the practice of a California male (no need to call him a man when he is clearly a monster) who preys on children for sex and spreads the details (including helpful hunting tips) of his pursuits on his blogsite. Outraged parents discovered the site and are currently tracking his whereabouts as best they can. Because he is not a convicted sexual offender and does not specifically describe his acts he is not breaking any current laws and can therefore sleep under the very same blanket of Freedom that you and I enjoy. If you’re grinding your teeth right now, don’t feel bad, YOU are not alone.

These are the cards that we have dealt so we can read ‘em and weep or fold’em up and play the next hand.

This is the wide open swamp that we all muck around in, searching for reason and grasping reluctantly at responsibility.

Please allow me to offer another example of Freedom on the March, one that you may be more familiar with or at least aware of.

The very last Empire on Earth -or at least its leaders- has recently decided to invade a little country known as Iraq and IMPOSE our notion of Freedom on its grateful populace. The results? Mixed at best, horrific at worst.
It seems quite clear that we Americans have, once again, failed to read our history. We’ve marched into an ancient religious/cultural/political feud -Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds - with absolutely no reliable solutions, no negotiable parties, little reasonable chance of success and every possibility of chaos erupting at any time while simultaneously arming ourselves with big fucking guns, not-quite-thick-enough armor and the generous gift of Independence as we stand around on foreign soil waiting to get blown to pieces. Or do some good……whichever comes first.

Let’s, for one moment, take it back to simplicity in regards to Iraq- You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink it.

And so we fight on………..and on………….and sink deeper into a Middle-Eastern quicksand that resists all the more even as we try desperately to pull away. Our most recent Brilliant Idea? Let’s add more Troops to the mix.

But let’s not be too harsh with our Iraqi Friends (and surely we must have some, somewhere).

Consider this- We started our own little experiment in Freedom around about 1776.
Right around then we decided that we’d had enough of those British Fuckers walking around on our good land (which we stole fair and square from the Natives) while they were sucking up all the good stuff, showing us their noses and sending the cash back home and so we promptly kicked them dead in the ass and out the door for good. We had quite a bit of help.
Well, almost 100 YEARS later (1860’s) we engaged in a little conflict amongst ourselves to perfect this idea of Freedom as, unfortunately, we had not as a Nation sufficiently agreed on all its terms. This little conflict only cost us near to 600,000 American lives before we got it settled. Some folks might argue that it still ain’t settled but perhaps that is neither here nor there.
It may, however, be fair to say that 150 years after that particular tussle we are still perfecting the idea.

As we sit in Iraq and search for easy answers.

But let's not despair or surrender and I do believe that the Monsters – and Governments- of our world must not, cannot and will not rule our Freedom and that it is Our responsibility to stand up and stop them. Wherever they are, Wherever they hide, wherever they run and wherever we are, hide or run. 200 some odd years ago those Old White Guys may have been as crooked as a mountain road (T. Jefferson among them) but if you can show me a more meaningful document than the Declaration of Independence than I’ll eat it.

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights- that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.- That to secure these Rights Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their Just powers from the consent of the governed- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute New Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness.”

Grab a hand and join in, Brothers and Sisters………………………………………………………plenty of room for everybody.