Freedom is a curse to those who do not know how to rightfully handle it. It’s the reason why criminals are confined in prisons with electric fences, steel bars, and concrete barriers. A campfire that is not attended to in a dry forest will quickly spread into a blazing inferno. Unchecked freedom will create chaos both in nature as well as the lives of human beings.
No where is this more evident than in the average life of us, who live in America. We have rights that many foreign nations do not. I have witnessed this single hand as I have traveled around the world and seen how abominable a government can treat it’s people. Despite our freedoms, we use freedom’s luxury to live selfishly or to pass the blame onto someone else. We slip into patterns of self-indulgent living in a affluent society.
This 4th of July, as we enjoy the family barbecues and the fireworks, let’s sit down and be thankful for the liberties we have. I hope that as the year progresses, we would learn to use freedom not for personal benefit, but as a gift to help those who are not as fortunate. Liberty should be a blessing rather than a curse, it’s our decision if we will fall into the pattern or start a new path for others to follow.
“Like a raging fire, freedom without limits is dangerous. But when controlled, it is a blessing to all.” -Dennis De Haan
Derek Kunhee Kim (김건희 金健熙) 