Category Archives: Freedom

I attended a public elementary school in San Diego during WWII. Among the excellent teachers who still have a fond place in my memory was Lila Dickson, who was my teacher in both fifth and sixth grades.

She kept us up to date on what was going on in the world, and at that time not much of it was very good. She also taught us about how our government worked and about our responsibilities as citizens.

Perhaps the most important thing I learned in those years was this: My freedom ends where the other persons freedom begins.

During those school days she taught us how that concept was violated when some students, while standing in line, chose to take more space than others and accomplished this with a push. They did not show respect for the freedom of their fellow students to also have space.

This concept of freedom also worked well when California residents decided to limit where people could smoke. Ergo, my right to smoke ended when my smoke reached your nostrils.

And when we, as a people, decided that the noise created by automobiles with fancy but noisy engines, as well as those with thunderous sound systems, would not be allowed on the streets. Their freedom to make noise ended when my freedom to have reasonable quietness began. This seems like a very simple concept, and it can be applied in ever so many ways from the close and personal to the local, state, national, and even at planetary levels.

For example, should businesses, large or small, be allowed to pollute the water, air or ground in such a way that it becomes unusable or otherwise dangerous for you and me? Should developers be allowed to build more homes than a community can support in terms of water availability, clean air supply, and a satisfactory quality of life for current residents? The Fourth of July is a splendid time to think on these things as this holiday always initiates a great deal of discussion about our freedoms what they are and their importance.

As we engage in conversations about freedom during this holiday, let us give thought to the idea of where freedoms are located as we remember our freedom ends where the other persons freedom begins.

Freedom is, indeed, a two way street!

Go here to see the original:

Sally White: Where freedom ends - Santa Clarita Valley Signal

We are just about ready to celebrate our nations independence and rejoice in the freedoms we have as Americans. I love the Fourth of July the food, the fireworks, the family fun. Even with our countrys weaknesses and imperfections, we live in a great land. Happy Fourth of July! Have fun and be safe!

As Christians, we know that our freedom was bought and paid for by Jesus on the cross. We can live in freedom, no longer enslaved by sin. Our day of liberty came when we asked Jesus to come into our lives. Galatians 5:1 basically says Christ has set us free to live in complete liberty; we never have to be harnessed again in the bondage and the slavery of sin. (Dorettes paraphrase)

Within the last month, two of my very dear friends have both published books that talk about freedom in different ways. Karen Jensen Salisbury released a book called I Forgive You, But and Tracy Wilde released her book called Finding the Lost Art of Empathy. I recommend both books highly, and to me their messages dovetail in a beautiful way. We all have suffered hurts. We live on an earth with a curse and people often hurt people, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Situations and circumstances can wound and pierce our heart. What both books emphasize in different ways is that forgiveness leads to freedom and freedom leads to loving others and ourselves with empathy.

Everyone I know wants peace, freedom and love in their lives, but most dont have the understanding that so often it starts with forgiveness. Unforgiveness can affect us in so many negative ways. In Karens book I Forgive You, But, she uses the example that unforgiveness is like drinking poison and praying for the other person to die. What actually happens is just the opposite. A slow death happens in us. Unforgiveness perpetuates pain, and only hurts us and those around us. Bitter people dont draw people to them, they push them away. I Peter 5:9 reminds us that we do not suffer alone; suffering goes on all around the world. (Dorettes paraphrase) We are not one isolated hurting heart, people have experienced hurts everywhere. We have to make a choice in our hurt, to forgive.

In Finding the Lost Art of Empathy, Tracy talks about the power of forgiveness when she was recovering from a tragedy in her own life. Her world was upside down and her physical body was suffering as well as her heart. Through the kind-hearted empathy of her trusted doctor, he suggested that her physical ailments were connected to her brokenness, and asked her if she had forgiven the other person involved. Her honest answer was that she didnt know. He then asked if she would repeat a phrase after him. She repeatedly said this, I forgive myself and others for all the wrong that has been done to me. Her doctors wisdom to walk Tracy toward forgiveness, not only healed her heart, but healed her body.

So my question to you is this, are you suffering in your heart or your body? Maybe freedom for you can start with forgiveness. This might be a great weekend to get free, and find true freedom!

The Rev. Dorette Schaal, of Amazing Grace Fellowship in Twin Falls, may be reached at 208-736-0727, 208-736-0727, on Twitter @doretteschaal and at Facebook.com/Encouraging Word.

Read this article:

Pastor's Corner: Freedom in forgiveness - Twin Falls Times-News

HONG KONG Tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents marched through the streets in defense of their cherished freedoms Saturday, in the face of what many see as a growing threat from mainland China, exactly two decades after the handover from British rule.

Earlier in the day, Chinas president, Xi Jinping, marked the 20th anniversary of the handover with his sternest warning yet to the territorys people: You can have autonomy, but dont do anything that challenges the authority of the central government or undermines national sovereignty.

Under the terms of the 1997 handover, China promised to grant Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy for at least 50 years, but Xi said it was important to have a correct understanding of the relationship between one country and two systems.

One country is like the roots of a tree, he told Hong Kongs elite after swearing in a new chief executive to govern the territory, Carrie Lam. For a tree to grow and flourish, its roots must run deep and strong. The concept of one country, two systems was advanced first and foremost to realize and uphold national sovereignty.

Many people in Hong Kong accused China of violating the territorys autonomy in 2015 by seizing five publishers who were putting out gossipy books about the Chinese leadership and allegedly distributing them on the mainland.

Some are also angry that Beijing intervened to disqualify newly elected pro-independence lawmakers who failed to correctly administer the oath of office last year. Many people are worried about a steady erosion of press freedom, and that in a range of areas China is increasingly determined to call the shots.

But Xi made it clear that challenges to Beijings authority would not be allowed.

Any attempt to endanger Chinas sovereignty and security, challenge the power of the central government and the authority of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, or use Hong Kong for infiltration or sabotage activities against the mainland, is an act that crosses the red line and is absolutely impermissible, he said.

But that message didnt appear to go down well on the streets of Hong Kong. Organizers said more than 60,000 people joined Saturdays annual march, which they said was meant to deliver a message to the Chinese president.

Hes threatening Hong Kongs people, saying he has the power to make us do what he wants, said Anson Woo, a 19-year-old student.But I still have hope. Seeing all the people around me today, the people of Hong Kong are still fighting for what we value.

A poll by the Chinese University of Hong Kong showed people here attach even greater importance to judicial independence and freedom of the press than to economic development. Any notion that Hong Kong as a city is only about making money is clearly not accurate.

We have to take the chance to express our views while we still can, said Chan Sui Yan, a 15-year-old schoolgirl.They say it is one country, two systems, but right now we are losing a lot of the rights we value.

Some chanted slogans demanding democracy, criticizing the territorys ruling elite or the Communist Party. many called for the release of Nobel laureate and democracy icon Liu Xiabo, imprisoned in China since 2008 and this week taken to a hospital under close guard for treatment for advanced liver cancer.

We want to show the mainland there are other voices, outside the official voice, said teacher Tong Siu, 53.We want to safeguard the core values of Hong Kong.

In his speech, Chinas leader said that the concept of one country, two systems was a great success, and should be implemented unswervingly and not be bent or distorted.

While his words made it clear that sovereignty took precedence over autonomy, he said neither aspect should be neglected. Only in this way will the ship of one country, two systems break the waves, sail steadily and last the distance, he said.

Yet many people here say Hong Kongs autonomy was again badly distorted in March, with Lams election as chief executive. Although the former bureaucrat trailed well behind rival candidate John Tsang in opinion polls, she was chosen by a panel of 1,200 members of the territorys elite that was packed with pro-Beijing loyalists.

Although Tsang was also an establishment figure, political experts say Beijing seemed to want someonein the chief executives chairwho would not challenge its authority.

Xi did not shy away from raising two controversial demands that have previously brought Hong Kong residents out on the streets inthe hundreds of thousands.

Chinas leader said the territory needed to improve its systems to defend national security, sovereignty and development interests, as well as enhance education and raise public awareness of the history and culture of the Chinese nation.

Chinas demand that the territory pass a national security law caused massive street protests14 years ago, while plans to implement a program of patriotic education brought more people onto the streets in 2012 and helped politicize the territorys youths.

Both plans were subsequently shelved, but Lam hasindicated she aims to put themback on the table. But she also argues the time isnt right to satisfy a popular demand for greater democracy by allowing a future chief executive to be chosen by universal suffrage.

Marchers said moves to interfere with the education system smacked of brainwashing.

Martin Lee, Hong Kongs veteran pro-democracy political leader, said China was deliberately confusing patriotism with obedience.

When they say you must love the country, what they mean is you must obey the Communist Party, he said. We have no problem with the Communist Party as long as it adheres to the promises made to us.

But Lee said China had not fulfilled its promise to grant Hong Kong greater democracy.

They kept on postponing democracy, he said. Thats why young people are losing their patience.

On Saturday morning, a small group of pro-democracy protesters said they were attacked by hired thugs when they tried to stage a demonstration, and subsequently were briefly detained and beaten by police.

Joshua Wong, who led protests against patriotic education in 2012 and in favor ofdemocracy in 2014, was among the group andcalled the incidentanother violation of the promise to maintain Hong Kongs values, including the right to free speech. One country, two systems has given way to one country, one-and-a-half systems, he told The Washington Post.

Why would Hong Kong people want to accept patriotic education from a country that isruled by a single party dictatorship? he said. This is the core question. If the government is not elected by the people, how can we have a sense of belonging?

Luna Lin contributed to this report.

Read more

Believe in the motherland, Chinas leader tells Hong Kong people and respect its might

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news

See more here:

Hong Kong residents march to defend freedom as China's president draws a 'red line' - Washington Post

Peggy Garner had a deeper and different understanding of liberty than Patrick Henry he who famously shouted Give me liberty or give me death. Peggy Garner had no liberty. She was a slave.

Patrick Henry detested taxation without representation by a distant British Parliament. Peggy Garner paid no taxes and had no liberty. Imprisoned on a plantation and a black female, she had perhaps the least liberty of all.

But when Peggy Garner escaped across a frozen river to Ohio, with her four children, perhaps she faintly heard Patrick Henry when hunted down by slave catchers. Give me liberty or give me death? Peggy chose death, wanting to kill her children and herself rather than be returned to slavery. She had killed just one child, slitting her throat, before being restrained.

Opposites help define each other, much as the meaning of light resides in total darkness. Peggy Garners act of desperation tells us what liberty means in a deeper and different way than even Jeffersons majestic claim that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

We get a deeper sense of the gradual, grinding progression of actualizing Jeffersons bold claim for all Americans when two centuries elapsed between a colonial editors shutting down his paper rather than pay the Stamp Act tax of 1764 and Martin Luther King, Jr.s soaring words on the national mall in 1963. Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

And while black females were perhaps last in line for liberty, and white males particularly wealthy ones first in line, our liberty largely started with wealthy white males claiming those rights and then, with commoner whites and free blacks and some courageous women, fighting with guns, guts, and French help to secure freedom from British rule.

Two people illustrate the gradual trickle down progression of liberty over the next several centuries. David Acheson immigrated to America from northern Ireland in 1788 with the clothes on his back and a letter of introduction from his minister. Nine years later he was a successful banker, businessman, and politician who was invited to dine with President George Washington. The vast expanse of our new country soon from sea to shining sea opened up opportunities for those with ambition and talent to pursue their dreams, the American dream.

No one really wanted war. But Lincoln knew it was coming, perhaps unavoidable due to historical circumstance and economic pressures. Julia Ward Howe awakened around dawn at her Washington hotel and peered out the window. Having watched Union troops parade the day before, new words came to her for the rhythmic music of John Browns Body.

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord, He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; He hath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword; His truth is marching on.

David Achesons grandson of like name marched to those stirring words on his way to Gettysburg. He fell in battle a few hours later, giving his life that others might be free to live theirs more fully. His blood sacrifice and that of thousands more fulfilled the last verse of The Battle Hymn of the Republic As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free.

Julia Ward Howe fought for womens rights and emancipation from a paternalistic culture, her own husband was something of a tyrant, for the next 50 years, being a fighting feminist before the phrase existed. Deep in her heart, she knew that one eternal truth that was marching on was that none of us are truly free until we all are free free to fully develop our God-given talents as both an act of self-fulfillment and a contribution to our national welfare.

For, as Peggy Garner, David Acheson, Julia Ward Howe, and many others knew, the freedom we celebrate on the Fourth of July must be for all people and for as long as we are willing to sacrifice blood and treasure to preserve it. God bless America and let us not let our liberty slip away. Many paid a high price for us to have it.

Read the original here:

Many paid a high price for us to have freedom - Edmond Sun

CNSNews.com

Even Scripture Makes the Case for Defending Religious Freedom: Paul in Acts CNSNews.com In late May, Alan Sears, the founder of the Alliance for Defending Freedom, was awarded the Wilberforce Award for his and the Alliance's efforts on behalf of religious freedom. At the ceremony, several speakers testified about Sears' commitment to ...

Link:

Even Scripture Makes the Case for Defending Religious Freedom: Paul in Acts - CNSNews.com

Gabe Adams was born in a Brazilian hospital more than 20 years ago without any limbs. Adam Paul Steed exposed inhumane treatment of political prisoners being held captive in Syria, saving hundreds of lives. Taj Khyber Rowland provides education and income opportunities in impoverished nations. And Raymond Beckham has chaired countless boards and projects to beautify and develop Utah Valley.

These four have done more than many may do in a lifetime. For their contribution to the liberty and well-being of others, they were honored Thursday night at the 32nd annual Freedom Awards Gala held at the Utah Valley Convention Center.

Freedoms messy. It is so messy, said Steed, one of the award recipients. Is it worth it? Yeah. Its always worth it.

The Freedom Awards are a part of the annual Americas Freedom Festival Provos city celebration that includes the Stadium of Fire, Balloon Fest and Grand Parade.

Past recipients of the award include Timothy Ballard, CEO of Operation Underground Railroad; Gail Halvorsen, the legendary Candy Bomber; and the late Boyd K. Packer, once president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Dancing usually involves a lot of footwork, some twirling and the occasional cha-cha-cha. But not so for Adams.

Adams was born in Brazil without limbs. But rather than lay around, mope and feel pitied, he worked hard and overcame his obstacles to be on his high school cheerleading team at Davis High School.

Adams has a unique zest for life and hopes to spread his cheerful disposition to others through motivational speaking.

Someone once said, Dont let what you cant do interfere with what you can, he said.

Adams has become independent in his own sense and enjoys personal freedom by overcoming what couldve been a negative aspect of his life.

I love the kind and generous people who I love and who have blessed my life in too many ways to count, more than I have on my fingers, he said jokingly.

Rowlands childhood was far from ordinary. When he was a boy, Rowland was born into poverty and struggled to keep himself and others of his family even alive.

I have early memories of scrounging through restaurant garbage for little bits of food, just trying to stay fed, Rowland said.

At a young age, Rowland was kidnapped and sold to a Christian orphanage in India. He was then adopted by Fred and Linda Rowland of Orem.

The Rowlands had no idea their new son wasnt an orphan. They worked tirelessly to find Rowlands childhood home, but to no avail.

For years, he searched for his forgotten home, remembering as many small facts of geography and unique landmarks as he could, going so far as to draw a map of what he could remember.

Years later, he and his wife, Priya, returned to India and he found the village of his childhood.

Rowland felt inspired from his reconnection with his biological family and after understanding more of the lives of impoverished communities, he and his wife founded Taprish, a nonprofit that provides educational and income opportunities to low-income communities across the world.

Freedom, to me, is probably the greatest gift Ive been given through adoption, he said. It allowed me to live a life that, otherwise, I would not have had.

If you take Beckham out of Provo, youre not left with really a lot.

Beckham has been on the boards of countless projects and councils for Utah Valley and particularly Provo. Beckham was directly involved in the building of LaVell Edwards Stadium, the Marriott Center, the BYU Museum of Art and the Provo Recreation Center, not to mention restorative projects in downtown Provo and the citys parks.

If you want to be happy, serve others, he said. I think all of us want to help the poor, to give comfort to those who are troubled. But its not enough to just want to. You have to do it.

Beckhams years of countless service and dedication to his community are an example of what he hopes to see in others.

May we always be searching for ways to serve others to take care of our communities and to volunteer, Beckham said.

Steed has provided the gift of freedom to the lives of hundreds by working hand in hand with Syrian refugees.

In September 2015, Steed, who was working at the time in Greece with Syrian refugees, learned of hundreds of political prisoners leading a revolt in a Syrian prison. He received video from the inside of the prison and published it through the European media. Steed said he knew that if Bashar al-Assad saw the unedited, raw videos, Assad would release the prisoners so as to not damage his public reputation.

This strange group of people came to them from the palace in Damascus and instead of killing these people, they came into them and were like, Hey, were your friends. Heres food and water, Steed said.

And just like that, hundreds of lives were saved from unknown fates.

But Steed isnt the only one who can save lives. He urged all in attendance to make a difference and fight for those who only want a piece of the freedoms enjoyed in America.

If I can say anything thats truly beyond measure, its that you can save these people, Steed said. You can do better than me, if that, and more.

Americas Freedom Festival continues through the weekend until July 4. A list of events can be found in our special section devoted to the festival.

Read more:

Freedom Awards Gala recognize community activists and leaders ... - Daily Herald

By Amanda Garrett Published: June 30, 2017 4:00 AM

Freedom Township was a hub for communications around the world last weekend.

Members of the Portage County Amateur Radio Service held their annual field day Saturday and Sunday at the Freedom Community Park on S.R. 700. Field day is a 24-hour event in which PCARS members set up state-of-the-art technology to communicate with other amateur radio enthusiasts in the U.S., Canada, and even around the world.

While the field days allows PCARS members to hone their amateur radio skills and socialize --there was plenty of good food available in the park's picnic area -- it also has a serious purpose in emergency preparedness, which is reflected in Ohio Gov. John Kasich's proclamation of June 24-25 as Amateur Radio Operators' Appreciation Day.

"We like to say 'when all else fails, amateur radio works'" Freedom resident and PCARS media relations manager Tom Parkinson said. "In the case of a major emergency, we as amateur radio operators can step up and help out."

When I visited on Sunday afternoon, the park had been transformed into a mobile communications center with several antennas and a large generator spread around the park grounds. PCARS members Andrew and Jennifer Williams were working to contact operators in Southern states like Alabama, Florida, and Texas, Terry Morris was busy sending out signals via Morse code, and Mike Ryan and Al Nagy were communicating via microphone.

This is the second year that the field day has been held in Freedom and Parkinson said the members are very satisfied with the location because the large amount of space and rural location give them the advantage of using their equipment to the best advantage. Last year, PCARS finished fifth overall and second in Ohio among groups in their class, and they were on course to match or exceed their 2016 numbers by Sunday afternoon.

The members were mostly communicating with others in the U.S., but they did receive international calls, including one from far-away New Zealand.

"It came through about 3 a.m.," Nagy said. "And we all about fell off our chairs."

To learn more about PCARS, visit their website at portcars.org.

------

Another great Freedom event held last Sunday was the annual open house for Peter and Susan Schneider's garden. The Schneiders open their Vair Road garden to the public every June, so visitors can view the more than 1,200 roses including rare and hard-to-find varieties from England, France and Germany.

My mother and I visited on Sunday and the eight-acre grounds were like stepping back into a British period drama. There were roses in almost every color of the rainbow, including bright orange, pale lavender, deep red, and every possible shade of pink, and the fragrant scent of the blooms filled the air.

The eight-acre property also includes two lily ponds, an orchard, and other flowering trees and shrubs.

You can visit the Facebook page Freedom Township: Then and Now for more photos of the roses and the field day event.

------

The township's annual trash drop-off weekend on June 8 to 10 was a resounding success, Trustee John Zizka reported. Residents filled up six 40-cubic-yard containers of trash, four containers of tires, and three containers of recyclable material.

However, despite the success of the trash drop-off, some people are still dumping their trash in the recycling containers next to the town hall, Zizka said. The trustees are considering ways to curb this behavior including hiring a deputy from the Portage County Solid Waste District to monitor the containers, installing video cameras, and instituting curbside recycling.

------

The Freedom Township Historical Society had another great crowd out for our June meeting, which was a special presentation from FTHS member Jeannette Wilson Marvin-Hall on the history of the Freedom school system, Freedom High School, and Freedom alumni. There were also several historical artifacts on display, including Speedometer yearbooks, bricks from the high school, and a band uniform. A fascinating fact I learned from the presentation was that Freedom High School's colors were orange and black, and its sports teams was known as the Yellow Jackets.

Also, it was especially nice to see former Freedom Station resident the Rev. Lyle Petit and his wife, Jeannette, at the meeting. They traveled all the way from Arizona to visit family in Ohio, and they were gracious enough to take the time to stop by and visit and share their Freedom memories.

Our next meeting will be at 7 p.m. July 11 at the Freedom Community Center, 8940 S.R. 700. There will be a talk by FTHS Vice President Claudia Garrett on the early settlers of Freedom with a special focus on the pioneer women and the hardships they faced. There will also be Fourth of July-themed refreshments followed by a business meeting.

------

The First Congregational Church of Freedom held its annual Father's Day picnic on June 2 following the worship service. The ladies of the church outdid themselves with all the wonderful food and preparation for this special event, the Rev. Jim Melick reported. Everyone enjoyed not only the good food, but great fellowship with lots of fun and joy.

Michael Gardner will be ministering in music and preaching at 10:30 a.m. July 9 at the historic building at the intersection of S.R. 88 and S.R. 303. He has many years of experience sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Christian music in an uplifting and encouraging ministry. Pastor Melick and his wife, the Rev. Janie, invite everyone from Freedom and the surrounding community to join them for this special service.

------

Happy Fourth of July to all my readers!

------

Contact Amanda Garrett at agarettsun@yahoo.com or at 330-842-4374.

Originally posted here:

Around Freedom - Ravenna Record Courier

They don't want to see us.

Thinkstock

Hey, Daddy! is a monthly column exploring the joys and struggles of parenting from a gay fathers perspective. Got a topic idea or question for Daddy? Send your letteralong to johnculhane@comcast.net.

Discrimination threatens LGBTQ visibility by encouraging subterfuge. I know from experience.

When David and I were foster parenting our daughters, I was in court for a remarkable exchange. Even though the status hearing to discuss the birth mothers progress wasnt supposed to be about usexcept to make sure the girls were in an appropriate placethe attorney for the birth mother went down an unexpected path. He asked the city worker for the names of the foster parents. Taken aback, she provided them, and the attorney then repeated them, loudly, for the benefit of the court: John and David, Your Honor.

This revelation put the judge on high alert. In his chambers before the next hearing, he expressed concern that the girls were with two men. (One of the attorneys ratted him out to me, a courageous act for which I will be forever grateful.) The judges concern had real consequences. He entertained a ridiculous suggestion that would have torn the girls away from us after a year, and prolonged the termination of parental rights process for about a year beyond what the law and the evidence called for. (Only after that step was completed were we able to adopt our children.)

It would have been worse had the law not been on our side. Philadelphias antidiscrimination law protects the LGBTQ community, so I was able to work behind the scenes to move the case to a just resolution. Without that law, there would have been no effective way to get the judge to do the right thing. Since we couldnt marry at that time in Pennsylvania in any case, without the laws protection we probably would have been advised to hide our relationship, and for one of us to have entered the foster/adopt rolls as a single parent.

J. BRYAN LOWDER

The AIDS Crisis Robbed Queers of Lives and Culture. A New Video Project Aims to Give It All Back.

CHRISTINA CAUTERUCCI

Can Gender Non-Binary Folks See Themselves in Emoji?

JOHN CULHANE

The Real Goal of Religious Freedom Laws? Making Queer People Go Back Into the Closet.

MIKE MIKSCHE

In an Era of Closing Leather Bars and Harness-Wearing Poseurs, Where Are the Real Leather Men?

HARI ZIYAD

Mainstream LGBTQ Activism Is Built on Visibility. But What if Thats Inherently Anti-Black?

Although Philadelphia has a law that outlaws discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity (SOGI), Pennsylvania offers no similar protection. People can be fired for coming out at work and denied basic goods and services available to the general public. Thats also true in about half the states, even as of this writing. And this lack of protection has real-world consequences. When I lived in Dallas for a few months, I was shocked by the tiny pool that the LGBTQ swim team occupied. I was even more aghast when I learned that the team had been turned away from a much more suitable location expressly because it was gay-identified. Many of the gay men I met there were closetedwhich is exactly the result youd expect when people know they can be treated so crappily when they come out.

These experiences were very much on my mind as I read Debating Religious Liberty and Discrimination, the new book pitting John Corvino against Ryan Anderson and Sherif Girgis. Corvino, a philosophy professor, has long been one of the leading public intellectuals arguing for a progressive, but not radical, LGBTQ rights regime. Anderson and Girgis are best known for writing, with Robert George, What is Marriage?, a book that presents a natural law argument for defining and limiting marriage to the union of one man and one woman. (Echoes of their argument about the natural complementarity of mothers and fathers can be found in Justice Alitos dissent in Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 Supreme Court marriage-equality decision.)

As the title suggests, Debating Religious Liberty and Discrimination is a chapter-by-chapter volley between the combatants. They argue over the wisdom of religious freedom restoration acts, which excuse non-compliance with various laws. Among those laws, of course, are SOGI antidiscrimination statutes. In an unexpected twist, Corvino is forced to spend much of his time and space making what should be the easy case for such laws, because Anderson and Girgis think they arent needed in the first place. For them, religious exemptions need not even arise in the case of anti-LGBTQ discrimination, because such discrimination should be perfectly legal.

Their argument, in a twisted nutshell, is that the strongest grounds for enacting SOGI lawsdenials of housing, or employment, or medical careare mercifully rare to vanishing. So are denials in public accommodations. Tell that to any trans-person caught up by laws mandating that they use restrooms inconsistent with their gender identity. (They also suffer extensive discrimination in other public accommodations.) More centrally, as Corvino points out, there is a substantial literature demonstrating not only the harms of anti-LGBT discrimination but also the effectiveness of antidiscrimination law in ameliorating it.

Anti-discrimination laws are important not just for the legal protections and recourse they create, but also for their teaching function. As Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy stated in a 1996 case, enumeration is the essential device used to make the duty not to discriminate concrete; naming protects the group in question and serves the laws important signaling function. By stating that racial, gender, disability, SOGI and, yes, religion are protected, antidiscrimination laws have vital secondary effects. As Corvino points out, they reduce the incidence of hate crimes and cut down on stigmawhich is itself a risk factor for discrimination, anxiety, and even suicide.

Anderson and Girgis ignore these concerns. But just in case there are SOGI laws, they argue in support of businesses that would just rather not deal with LGBTQ couples trying to use wedding-related services: Their rights to public accommodation, not to mention just being themselves in public, should be trumped by the business owners rights to invoke religious exemptions. After all, they say, its not the parties sexual orientation the business owners object to, but their conduct in marrying.

Corvino skillfully picks this nonsense apart, noting that Anderson and Girgis arent as skeptical of other antidiscrimination laws. He wonders whether they would support a motel owner who refused to rent a room to a Catholic couple on the grounds that they werent true Christians. (I have a guess: They wouldnt.) His peroration is devastating: Religious freedom laws are not really about freedom. Theyre about signaling disapproval for certain forms of life. Their proponents want freedom for themselves that they proudly oppose for LGBT citizens: the freedom to marry, [and] the freedom to enter the commercial sphere without the threat of discrimination. Its a double standard.

Legal protections, even where they exist, are hardly a panacea. When I returned from Dallas, secure in the belief that what happened there could never happen to my Philadelphia LGBTQ swim team, I was coaching one evening when the coach of the youth diving team, which used the diving well right next to the pool, approached me angrily to complain that two of the guys had kissed each other on the pool deck. (Kids dont need to see that!) Never mind that he was likely the only one who even noticed the kiss. Never mind that on a diving team there were sure to be some young gay divers. (Greg Louganis, Tom Daley ) Never mind that a similar, utterly chaste kiss between a man and a woman would have gone unremarked. A few weeks later, we were kicked out. So were all other outside groups that had been renting the pool. Although wed never be able to prove it, that one kiss had caused a cataclysm, culminating in a camouflaging wholesale policy change.

Thats the kind of visibility-punishing outcome Girgis and Anderson are after. They turn the facts of the world upside down, ignoring the deep homo- and transphobia that still persists even today and casting the vast Christian majority as the true victims. The universe theyd prefer to inhabit would drive LGBTQ people back into a closet, afraid that visibility would compromise their jobs, their safety, and even their lives. For some, thats already the reality. We cant afford to fall further back.

Read more:

Religious Freedom Laws Are More About Suppressing Visibility Than Protecting the Pious - Slate Magazine (blog)

Repeated words, pronouns not clearly referring to one character or another, flabbily padded phrases, irritating tics of style (the use of the word all as in all longish hair), eruptions of verbosity (the indescribable sound that emanated from that swiftly engorging clot of people): there is so much distractingly bad writing in the first section of Neel Mukherjees new novel, its difficult to concentrate on what he is actually saying. As far as the plot goes, it seems to be something at once melodramatic and not all that surprising. An Indian father born in Calcutta but now working in the US takes his six-year-old son, who has been raised in America, to see the Taj Mahal and the nearby monuments at Fatehpur Sikri. Here, thanks to a bit offunny business with shadows and guides (Marabar Caves, anyone?), the son freaks out, and the father is forced to accept that he has become a tourist in his own country.

Its not a good start, from a writer who has already been shortlisted for the Booker and the Costa and won the Encore prize for his second novel, The Lives of Others. But anyone tempted to abandon the book at this point should persevere. Although later pages are still liable to congestion and carelessness, they are much better written. Theyre also ambitiously and intelligently engaged with important themes several of which are treated explicitly (deracination, the inequalities of Indian society), and one of which emerges more subtly, through clever and well-handled plotting.

At first glance the narratives of the five sections seem discrete, although all tending towards similar interests and conclusions. As scene follows scene, however, Mukherjee returns tocharacters and events that have previously appeared only in the background of each story, to flesh out their details. So, for instance, a horrible accident involving a construction worker who falls from the scaffolding of a new building, witnessed in passing by the father and son in the first section, links both to a later section in which we hear the story of the victims earlier life, and to the final section in which we read the unpunctuated monologue spoken immediately before his death. In the same way, a poverty-stricken man leading a dancing bear, who appears briefly beside the car window as the father and son return toDelhi, turns out to be the brother of the construction worker, and later gets most ofa whole section to himself. We hear about his family and their hardships, about the training of the bear, about their time on the road together, and about the ways in which their relationship allows and simultaneously denies a state of freedom.

This linked structure emphasises the value of life as life, regardless of wealth and status and circumstance. But it also conveys a sense of inter-relatedness that allows Mukherjee to say something about how families and communities work in general, and about how Indian society functions in particular. His sharpest focus is on the way life carries characters like dice on the slot of a roulette machine and delivers [them] to destinations that [are] endlessly repeatable, each ever so slightly different from the other, all more or less the same. In this respect A State of Freedom touches on distinctly English-Victorian themes. And like the intricately woven novels of say Dickens, it has its foundation in the denunciation of injustice, and the valuing of compassion.

In the second section, for instance, ason raised in India but now working in London stays with his parents in Mumbai, and becomes interested intheir cook, Renu, and another servant named Milly. As far as the parents are concerned, the significance of these two consists largely in how well or badly they do their work. But the son more liberal, more curious, and like several other characters in the book, very interested in food and its preparation inquires into their lives, and is eventually encouraged by Renu to visit her home village. When he does so, he receives a lesson in social awkwardness, and in the limits of his own capacity to imagine the lives of others, which picks up themes that are announced in Mukherjees opening pages.

The sound of grief is audible everywhere, but it never drowns out the voices insisting on their right to thrive

Much the same goes for the fourth section, in which were given the backstory of Milly, the other servant. Originally named Manglu and the daughter of a drunken father, she was raised in great poverty. She seeks to improve her lot by taking work as a servant away from her village: during her travels and travails, which Mukherjee describes with an impressive sense of actuality, she experiences various degrees of tolerance and intolerance, culminating in a life of more or less complete captivity from which she is eventually rescued.

Millys childhood friend Soni, meanwhile, stays behind in the village and joins the local Maoist guerrillas, living in the woods and enduring her own form of hardship. When Milly hears news of her, her response contains questions that unite the two strands of the narrative, and resonate throughout the novel. What are the costs of leaving and staying at home? What are the limits of human resilience? Or as Milly herself says: How can movement from one place to another break you? Are you a terracotta doll, easily broken in transit?

At a time when the manifold dramas of migration are centre stage, we often hear writers making the sound of lamentation. The sound of grief is audible everywhere in A Sense of Freedom, but itnever drowns out the voices insisting on their right to thrive. One of the most dynamic aspects of Mukherjees flawed but vital novel isthat even while facing up to unhappiness it continues toshow an affirming flame.

Andrew Motions Silver: Return to Treasure Island is published by Vintage. A State of Freedom is published by Chatto. To order a copy for 12.74 (RRP 16.99) go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over 10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of 1.99.

Originally posted here:

A State of Freedom by Neel Mukherjee review vital meditations on ... - The Guardian

Its that time of year again. After Rod Liddle used the key address at the fifth annual Freedom Dinner to turn his attention to Labours Jew-bashing, the anti-Brexit mob and Tim Farron, he was invited back by popular demand to speak at the event this week.

At the annual libertarian bash, hosted by Forest, Liddle spoke frankly on a range of topics calling out the double think among the metro-liberal left, namely Diane Abbott and Emily Thornberry:

Double think, as Orwell put it, is kind of unique to our metro-liberal left. Its kind of how they live their lives. Take Diane Abbott, for years Diane railed and railed against the institution of private schools, but then she sent her brat to one, and admitted that it is unforgivable.

But more than that, theres Emily Thornberry, Lady Nugee, (lets give her her proper name, she is Lady Nugee) MP for Islington South I believe, has also railed, not only against private schools but against selective schools, against grammar schools. She doesnt want you to have your kids to have the chance to go to a selective school because they are bright but shes sent her kids to one. Remarkable.

Not only that, but she also railed for years about the policy to sell off old housing association properties. She thought it was immoral and wrong, voted against it, thought people shouldnt be allowed to buy them: bought one herself! I mean, you cant make this stuff up! She bought one herself. And, you know, I used to think this was hypocrisy, but its more than that. Its a kind of weird separation from reality, a sort of schizophrenia if you like. For Diane and Emily, and so many of the left, theres this stuff in their heads, a pink marshmallow-y stuff, and thats what they believe in. And then some miles distant, theres the real world, where other stuff happens, where reality happens.

Theres an awful lot of people like that. Ive got a friend here tonight, Rob, who is unfortunate enough to live in London. And he can tell you of many, many people, lefties, who voted for Corbyn at the last election and prayed to the Lord Jesus Christ that he wouldnt get in. Now that really is a kind of madness isnt it? Its where a sort of fantasy world and the real world suddenly collide.

Double-standards more double-standards: do you remember Stephen Fry and a whole bunch of others railing about the winter Olympics being held in Sochi, in Russia, because of Vladimir Putins supposed homophobia? Ive never taken much of an interest in the Winter Olympics, nor has most of Britain actually, its not a hugely popular event. And at the very moment he was ranting about Russia, the cricket world cup, a game we do play a lot of, was getting under way in Bangladesh, where the penalty for same-sex relationships is life imprisonment. In Russia, its legal.

The Bangladesh escape censure because its an Islamic country, and the lefties never wish to be nasty about Islamic countries. More recently, you will have heard them all screeching about the horrible Democratic Unionist Party and their homophobia and how utterly ghastly they are. But again they make no comment whatsoever about the approach to homosexuality in the Islamic world and within the Muslim communities. That is never mentioned.

And there is a difference, you lefties, there is a difference.

If you are gay and you want to get married it may well be that the DUP would be a little bit churlish about decorating your wedding cake. But theyre not going to push you off a fingbuilding are they? Theyre not going to stone you to death. Theyre not going to put you in prison.

I made this, what seems to me, very, very obvious point, to one of those gibbering snowflakes recently, and he thought about it for a bit, and then he said: The difference between Islam and the DUP, is really only one of degrees. Right.. okay.. quite a large number of degrees isnt it? I would say somewhere in the region of 180.

But people who think that there is an equivalence cant be argued with, its impossible to debate because the delusion has gripped them so tightly that theres kind of no way through. There is the real world, and then there is the place they inhabit. Dont forget, these are the people who decided that something that wasnt a circle could be a circle if it really wanted to be.

Let me tell you more about this. This was a study, and it was done in America and it was an American experiment designed to seemingly prove the very point I have been making. People were shown this shape and asked if it was a circle.

Liberals, overwhelmingly, said yes. Because they are inclusive. But its not a circle is it? Its not! They got it wrong! And theres nothing you can do about this. Theres no arguing. If you want it to be a circle, it can be a circle.

Added to this separation from reality of course is this, is a tendency to consider their opponents not really wrong, but bad people. Scum. Evil. You wont let that shape be a circle, you murdering bastard!

Weve seen an awful lot of this sort of stuff at the moment, the protestors shouting Tory scum, the people insisting that Theresa May is responsible for the murder of those poor people in Grenfell Tower, the shrieked asides at every single turn.

One of my favourites, actually, of this sort of approach came just after the 2015 general election, when unexpectedly for the liberals the Conservative party won, and it was a response from the university lecturer called Rebecca Roache that really cheered me up, she was fab.

What she did, was she put out a poster on social media and she said I am de-friending anyone who sends me anything about the Tories. Right okay.. and then she went on: Ive had it up to here, I dont want any conservative friends, the time for reasoned debate is over. Go on.. what subject do you think she taught? Yes shes a philosophy lecturer!

Or heres one from more recently, and it is typical of the way these people behave. The liberal journalist, Sophie Heawood, who tweeted recently, that she looked forward to the day when all Daily Mail readers were dead. Yep, all 4 million of them. Incredible. I was so shocked I rang Impress, which is the new regulating body funded by Max Mosley, who, if you remember, got upset when people interfered in his orgies, and so set up this regulatory body, (with his friends from Hacked off), which has won approval from the government, and will soon be telling us what we can and cant write.

So I rang up about Sophie Heawood and tried to get a response to this, seemed to be something worthy of a response. Three times I rang. And I just didnt get an answer from her. The person I really wanted to talk to was a chap called Jonathan Heawood, the boss of Impress yes hes Sophies brother.

And Im afraid were back at last years speech where I talked about my favourite board game, 6 degrees of Shami Chakrabarti, because all these fers are related to each other. There is a small, finite number of these people in an endless multitude of quangos and jobs. And so you have JonathanHeawood, a former Labour candidate of course, as you would expect, someone whos a fan of Max Mosley, and boss of Impress, his sister works for the Guardian and wants all Daily Mail readers dead. His wife is the daughter of Polly Toynbee. I mean, theyre all there, theyre all lined up.

And its very, very common and again its a separation of reality. I would assume Sophie Heawood really doesnt think that all Daily Mail readers should die; its just a sort of insanity.

Another example, a few years back, I argued that as we as a country and we as a continent opened our doors to more refugees or supposed refugees from North Africa many more would die in the seas attempting to come here. This is exactly what has happened: more people have died, something like four-fold have died because Europe has said we must let more people in so more have tried to make the crossing meaning more people have been killed. But the shrieking when I made this point was remarkable and someone said racist.

These people are human beings, it was shouted at me. Simon Schama, screeched at me, the gravest insult he could find which was that I was suburban. And had a real go at me.

Its a separation of what is actually happening with what goes on in their minds. It may be the sign of the rest of lefties wanting to feel good about themselves by saying we should allow more refugees in. What has that done is kill more refugees. The double think and the demonisation of opponents is on the surface quite funny, even profitable, but it does serve to close down the debate so that real issues are very difficult to discuss. Suddenly perfectly sensible things become unsaleable. Such as this is not a circle.

Go here to read the rest:

Rod Liddle's Freedom Dinner speech: Emily Thornberry, Diane Abbott and the metro-liberal left - Spectator.co.uk (blog)