Freedom worth fighting for right here in America – Times Union

There's a Far Side cartoon by Gary Larson that has always been a favorite. In it, two deer are standing in a field and they are chatting, as deer often do in Larson's cartoons. One of the deer has a black and white bull's-eye painted in the center of his chest. The other deer comments sympathetically, "Bummer of a birthmark, Hal."

Right now, Americans feel a little bit like Hal. We're getting used to the United States being challenged and accused by allies and enemies alike. We feel the danger that has accrued to our role in the world. We're reminded daily that our war is now about civilian targets. Shootings and bombings and police militarization are about civilian loss and injuries. It is civilians now people of color, young and old protesters who are in danger. We live in a military state and it crept up on us. We taught our kids, "If you ever feel scared, look for a policeman." And now none of us can safely say that.

This is where it gets hard to be an American liberal or conservative. We advocate for democracy in other countries, but we feel so aware of the personal danger that it's tempting to throw away what's important.

It's excruciating to watch a president and many leaders toss out our rights like a newcomer cleaning someone else's house. In the guise of security, what we look up online, or share on social media and even our medical records might not be private. We could end up running after a truck saying, "Whoa, those are my baseball cards and my civil liberties, and hey, that's the Bill of Rights, I'm not done with that yet."

People say they are willing to trade a few freedoms for safety, but do they mean that? I don't want to be blithe about the dangers. But can we keep for ourselves what we have fought for elsewhere: fair elections, freedom of speech, rule of law and an open political process? We can't paint a bull's-eye on our civil rights.

We also have to find ways to partner with the rest of the world. Years ago, Canada's then-prime minister, Pierre Trudeau, called the United States "the elephant next door." So, as the world's elephant, could we learn to move more gracefully? Or use our might for the common good?

I think about how, as a child, I learned about the United States from one of those wall-sized maps common in elementary classrooms, the ones that show each state as a different color. I remember the first time we went on a family vacation to another state and how disappointed I was that all that distinguished the next state was a sign saying, "Welcome to Ohio" but Ohio wasn't blue as my classroom map had shown it. Now, we are similarly challenged to accept that countries are permeable, and that we have to see the world as a whole.

In 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt described the four freedoms that he wished for our future: Freedom of speech and expression; Freedom for everyone to worship God his own way; Freedom from want; and Freedom from fear.

We've seen these freedoms depicted in Norman Rockwell paintings, which might make us think these were only for the American people, but that's not true. FDR called them a "human birthright," and the tagline on each painting was: for everyone, everywhere in the world.

That's the challenge. It's simple but not easy. But it's a birthmark worth wearing and fighting for abroad and at home.

Diane Cameron is a Capital Region writer. DianeOCameron@gmail.com.