COLUMN: Tales from the Gravel Ridge – Taking freedom seriously

What do we mean when we speak of freedom? Perhaps it depends on who you ask, …or possibly for anyone of us at a given moment, what is it that we mean or hope for.

For many of us, freedom from hunger has never been an overriding concern, not even remotely. During my childhood and youth my family lived in Rosengard, situated on the gravel ridge stretching approximately 21 kilometres between Grunthal and Steinbach. Our community was chiefly made up of small, mixed farms. My parents worked hard to provide for us, as I am certain, did other members of our community. Since we lived a distance of 15 kilometres from Steinbach, our nearest large town, getting there in summer by means of a two-horse drawn wagon was time-consuming. Travelling that distance during winter weather was similarly time consuming, in addition to the possibility of adverse weather, causing potentially dangerous conditions to all involved.

It is truly remarkable that I am unable to recall ever being seriously hungry, except for the ravenous appetite of a growing child or young adult. This is so, in spite of the fact that there was no convenience store to which we could make a quick trip for a snack, for example. It speaks, of course, to the capacity of those in our community who were responsible for the well-being of their families, to plan wisely and carefully, keeping in mind seasonal changes in weather and travel conditions. It also required that foods be stored in ways that would prevent spoilage, given that prior to approximately 1950, none of us had access to electricity. The phenomenal advantages that electricity provided for families in our community were immeasurable, especially in the context of food preservation and storage.

There is, however, more to freedom than, for example, freedom from fear, or pain, or other distressing situations. We have freedom to make choices, for example, and are free to make all sorts of decisions. As well, we have freedoms specifically provided for in legislation, and in the constitution of our country.

It turns out that we have an enormous degree of freedom, and are able to make all sorts of decisions in our daily lives, even if options may at times appear to be limited. Ultimately, we as individuals are accountable for the choices we make.

When we neglect to be discerning regarding conspiracy theories, or political spin “alternative facts”, or for that matter accept outright lies as being the truth, we do ourselves a disservice by failing to use our God-given intelligence to think carefully concerning where the truth actually lies. If we go a step further, and spread those falsehoods to those who trust us, or who may not have the capacity to be discriminating, we become complicit in the spread of disinformation.

The fact that in our country we are free to speak freely on anything we may have on our minds, is a privilege we should never take for granted. We know that many in our world are not so privileged. With freedom also comes responsibility. We must never take our rights and privileges for granted, and must strive ardently to protect our democratic systems. Holding our elected officials accountable for what they say and disseminate, is part of our responsibility.

It is becoming more and more apparent that our democracy is fragile. Gone are the days when we could be naive enough to think that the freedoms we take for granted would always be ours to enjoy.

It is very sobering to think that the rights and freedoms we enjoy might not be available to our children and grandchildren. As much as lies within us, we dare not allow that to happen.