Saturday, to celebrate her birthday, my friend and I went “out to play.” In my childhood, children went to their friend’s house, knocked on the door and asked the adult who answered, “Can Julia come out to play?” Children seldom do this anymore, as their friends may live across town rather than in the neighborhood. Also, few adults are at home during the day, and children no longer have the freedom to play outdoors without adult supervision. Children’s lives are full with school, sports, music lessons, church, and organized clubs and activities, not to mention their computer gadgets and toys. But I still think of this phrase when I go out with friends. It has a ring of freedom.
We ate lunch together: bagel with cream cheese, salted salmon, capers, red onions and tomato. Her bagel was flavored with asiago and parmesan cheese, while mine had rosemary and olive oil. She had lemonade, and I had iced tea. “What are capers?” she asked me, and my short reply was, “They are some kind of plant.” Capers are the small flower bud of a plant that grows near the Mediterranean Sea. They are harvested at a specific time in their growth and are pickled in brine. Just a few capers add a flavor boost to an otherwise ordinary dish. I have learned that in ancient times, capers were used as currency along trade routes. Isn’t it amazing how far our food travels before we eat it?
After lunch we went to a museum. The main exhibit is about people seeking freedom, immigrating to USA for that purpose. It’s an interactive display, with many “hands on” activities. One such activity includes a small suitcase and many items, such as clothing, books, a china plate, a baseball, a comb. These are on a table, and the visitor is invited to select what to take, and fit it in the small suitcase. I could see that you couldn’t get it all in. Did we try?
My friend is a recent immigrant to this country, and I have travelled many times to China, with the rule of “40 pounds only.” I felt the display was too close to reality to enjoy playing with it. What would you take along for a year’s sojourn in a foreign land? What would you take if you were leaving your homeland forever? So many immigrants arrived with nothing except the clothes they were wearing, a little bit of cash, and huge hopes for a life better than the one they left behind. This exhibit is historical, focusing mainly on the people who immigrated in the 1880’s and early 1900’s, but the waves of immigration have not diminished. As the world is full of oppression and war, people still are looking for freedom.
As we in America daily see our freedom eroding, thousands of people arrive here looking for more freedom than they left behind. The exhibit we visited asked us to ponder what freedom really is, and where it originates. Is there a freedom of the soul, regardless of circumstances? Is freedom political? Can we find true freedom by leaving a place or by arriving in a place? How can we preserve freedom, and can we offer freedom to others? What are the responsibilities inherent in a free society? What dangers accompany freedom?
What are your thoughts on freedom?
As ever, Julia