Freedom: A New Perspective
      
       Freedom is a rich tradition in the United States, so to propose a new perspective can be for some iconoclastic. It is with this knowledge that I enter into a new approach to freedom. It is an archaeological axiom that one digs to uncover new information about a culture by beginning with the known and proceeding to the unknown. Using this process we can uncover a new perspective on freedom. To enter this new understanding, we must begin from the known and proceed to uncover a new truth. In this case, we begin our exploration from the known that being the enculturated thought, "Freedom isn't free.”
      
       "Freedom isn't free” is an idiom in the United States that expresses gratitude for the service of members of the military. It implicitly states that the freedoms enjoyed by many citizens in Western democracies are only possible through the voluntary risks taken and sacrifices made by the military. In words often used by a former and by our present commander-in-chief, “Let me be clear.” I am deeply grateful for the long legacy of freedom secured by the men and women who have served and sacrificed for the freedoms that parts of the world enjoy today.  My challenge is not to the cost of freedom but to the currency we use to pay for our freedom. 
      
       The accepted definition of “Freedom isn’t free” as stated above is that freedom is only possible through the voluntary risks taken and sacrifices made by the military. There is another way. Again, let me be clear, the freedom we cherish does not come without cost. "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" is an American abolitionist hymn. The lyrics were written by Julia Ward Howe in November 1861 and it was first published in The Atlantic Monthly in February 1862. It became popular during the American Civil War. Since that time it has become an extremely popular and well-known American patriotic song. A new perspective does not require us to sing a new song but to sing an old song in a new way. Here are two versions of one verse from this classic American song. Note the difference.
      
       
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free,
While God is marching on.
       
       
       Yes, God is marching on, marching on and using our feet, our minds and our hearts. The new perspective on freedom asks the question, “How will we walk, how will we think, and how will we feel?”  Are we willing to “live to make men free?” If so, we must remember that “freedom isn't free.”  The cost of the new perspective is paid with the currency of our new thought and feelings. The sacrifices we make are offered on the altar of our minds and hearts. Here the old false beliefs of separation, poverty and lack are burned away by the radiant light of spiritual understanding and these old beliefs become the ashes of nothingness. The new perspective acknowledges that all persons are children of the same loving Father/Mother/Creator that God/Yahweh/Allah is. There shall be no more wars for lands and resources when we come to know that the lands of the earth belong to its Creator and that all of us are free to enjoy the gifts of God regardless of what name we choose for our deity. The English poet Alexander Pope, considered to be one the greatest poets of the eighteenth century, recognized that humankind has always been deeply connected to each other and to God by whatever name we choose when he wrote these words:
      
       Father of all! In every age,
       In every clime adored,
       By saint, by savage, and by sage,
       Jehovah, Jove, or Lord!
      
       The new perspective on freedom acknowledges that there is only one true source of good and that there are many resources or channels through which that good is made manifest. The new perspective acknowledges that there is enough, enough food to feed a hungry world, enough clean water to support bodily health, enough energy to power all of the devices of a modern society and most importantly enough love and wisdom to ensure that the “enough” reaches all of God’s children. The new perspective on freedom acknowledges that there is a transfiguring power that is Christ in you. This is a spiritual reality and it is made manifest as freedom when we are willing to “live to make men free.”
             Come Home to Unity.    Come Home to True Freedom.