I'm proud to be an American. I am beyond grateful to have been born in a country brimming with opportunity and freedoms that are part of our every day rituals that we so easily take for granted. We possess freedoms that we can easily feel entitled to and not connect that these gifts are possible because of the men and women over the course of our nation's history. After all, freedom is not free.
In school I pledged to the flag daily without hesitation and wore and there was a flag hanging from my home as the fourth rolled around every year. It wasn't until my feet walked on soil across the globe that I had any concept of how truly free and able we are.
Example 1: A million choices that are not a choice elsewhere
The summer before my junior year of college I spent time in Minsk, Belarus. It was my very first time overseas and as a nineteen year old kid in college who was just stoked to be on an adventure it shattered my view of life in every way possible. My world was turned upside down. From armed guards greeting us at the dilapidated airport to the lingering effects of Chernobyl present in young and
old, it was a far cry from Main Street USA. What still resonates within me, years later, was my first trip to the grocery store. When I inquired to a friend who had accompanied me there about the empty racks where milk should be and the obvious lack of variety and choice of bread, cookies or cereal they responded, "this is what's on our shelves and what we have to choose from. When the milk runs out it remains that way until the next delivery." There was not 25 types of bread or 132 choices of cereal. The first time I went shopping after returning home I cried, partially out of gratitude and partially out of disgust at how much we have that is both wasted and expected.
Example 2: The ability to be who you are
After working and traveling through Israel I hopped the border into the Sinai before heading via bus to Cairo. I stayed in a hut owned by a Swiss couple that was much more Westernized than the surrounding villages. After getting settled I made my way into town by food wearing long linen top and a flowing skirt where only my feet, hands and a section of my face were visible. While abroad I do my best to respect the cultural practices and, naively, I believed that my attire was appropriate. I walked into town half to explore and the other to capture a few candid pictures of an area laden with political and religious unrest. As I made my way into a small shop for a bottle of water it became quickly apparent that all eyes were on me. Men and women literally stopped and observed my every move. Before making it to the register I heard, "whore" from the aisle next to me and as my eyes met the man closest to me there was disdain that made my stomach turn. With every step I made you could have heard a pin drop. The silence was deafening. I returned to the Westernized haven unscathed, but I was unnerved. My dress was unsuitable in the area I was in. As a woman it was not acceptable to walk freely, not fully covered in this area of the world. There was no chatting about the importance of women's equality in this situation and in that moment I became so very grateful to be a women born in the United States entitled to a voice, to dress as in a way that I choose and to have the simple freedom of walking into a store without fear for out lash regarding my appearance.
We are in a country with great freedom and opportunities that should not be taken for granted. Thank those who have served or are presently serving because our freedoms have come with great cost and allow our county to be as great as it is.
No comments:
Post a Comment