Freedom for All

With the apporaching Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving, I've been thinking about the most important aspect of our country... freedom. This term sounds simple enough, but I believe it's more complex than it appears. The Pilgrims came to this country searching for religous freedom. At least, that's what we're told. The part of the story we often leave out to our school-aged children, is that they were searching for religous freedom for them. They were very strict in the ways that they lived, and every aspect of their lives was governed by their religion. Anyone that didn't abide by their rules, was persecuted (salem witch trials?). When Roger Williams founded Rhode Island, it was because his religous views didn't follow the mass's. He was the first American to ralley for true religous freedom for all. This is a subject that I am so passionate about because I, like a lot of others in this country, do not follow the "right" religion. Whenever I state that I am not a christian, which I am reluctant to do most of the time, it is often followed by an akward silence. Then many questions. One minute I'm a "good" person, and the next I am a heathen that needs to be taught the "true path". "No, I do not worship the devil" and "Yes, I believe that Jesus lived, but I don't believe he was the son of God" are statements I've made many, many times in my life. What bothers me the most, is in the United States of America, where we take our freedoms so seriously and hold them so dear, is that most people follow the rule that you have the freedom to believe what they believe. I have also said, "The Constitution declares freedom of religion for all, not just for Christians" more times than I can count. Last year around the holiday season, there was an uproar because the atheist community put a display up among the Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa displays. People felt they didn't have the right to put their display up. While I agree it might not have been in the best taste, I absolutely believe they had the right to do it. The display was even vandalized. What does that say about people today? Hundreds of years after the days of the Puritans, the definition of "freedom of religion" is still not viewed the same across the board.
I come across this skewed view of freedom in many other areas of my life. I have chosen to have home births for all of my children, and it is my right to do so. However, my insurance doesn't agree with the practice and refuses to cover a home birth, even though it is tens of thousands of dollars cheaper to cover. Why should they be allowed to strong-arm anyone into doing something they don't agree with? (Might I add it's a government run insurance?) We refuse to immunize our children, but most people don't even know they have the right to waive it. Most parents are told that their kids won't be admitted to kindergarten without being fully 'up to date'. what gives the government the right to force such a personal decision onto millions of parents? We should have the freedom to decide what is right for our child, and what is not. And if you say that it's a public health concern, you're wrong. I'm sure many parents would still opt to vaccinate their children, and those who are immunized would be protected, and those who are not, would be able to catch the disease. I am much more confident in my child surviving chicken pox, measles, etc. than I am confident in the pharm companies being honest about their products. It seems like every day there is a new class-action lawsuit filed for the "unknown" (and often fatal) side-effects of a particular drug. It is my freedom to opt out of the unknown side-effects. And if my children grow up and decide to get themselves vaccinated against this or that, then I will accept that as their freedom to choose to do so.
As the wife of a sailor and step-daughter of a soldier, I take these things so seriously. Every time we want to be judgemental or impose our views on others, we need to remind ourselves that the definition of "freedom to..." applies to everyone. As the great philosopher Voltaire once said, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."