Date: Sat, 28 Feb 1998 10:25:04 EST From: east of blurry Subject: Re: [WRITERS] Fill: The Interrelatedness of All Things - Anthony [just musing about a line that caught my eye...and reminded me of late-night thoughts from years gone by...i.e., please don't take this as argumentative, this is more me contemplating my own struggles with this question...] On Fri, 27 Feb 1998 05:58:13 EST, Words from the Monastery wrote: :) Freedom has always come with a heavy price ... those not willing to :) pay it, don't deserve it. Of course, that's not quite what America stands for, is it? "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness..." It seems to me that part of what America has said is that freedom (Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness) must be extended to everyone, whether they are willing or able to pay "the price" or not. Almost all of us will agree quickly that children, the infirm, and others don't have to go to the front lines to earn their freedom--we extend it because they are part of "us." The harder part, one that we've been working on for a while now and will be working on for some time to come, lies in deciding that all people--no matter their color, sex, race, religion, intelligence, money in the bank, whether they crumple, fold, or don't even bother, no matter how they differ--all people deserve those rights. They may not be able or willing to pay the cost. That's not the question. The question is whether you are willing to pay the cost for them, even if they spit on you for it. The question is whether you are willing to give up your rights--your liberty, your pursuit of happiness, even your life--to make sure that their rights are protected. That's not particularly a question to be answered loudly--it's one to be lived. tink