{"id":569,"date":"2017-03-31T19:35:07","date_gmt":"2017-04-01T00:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/?p=569"},"modified":"2017-03-31T19:35:07","modified_gmt":"2017-04-01T00:35:07","slug":"freedom-xiv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/569","title":{"rendered":"Freedom XIV"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have a great weekend. We certainty will as\u00a0we chuck the political BS for a few\u00a0days.<\/p>\n

We leave you with the following…<\/p>\n

And an orator said, “Speak to us of Freedom.” <\/em><\/p>\n

And he answered: <\/em><\/p>\n

At the city gate and by your fireside I have seen you prostrate yourself and worship your own freedom, <\/em><\/p>\n

Even as slaves humble themselves before a tyrant and praise him though he slays them. <\/em><\/p>\n

Ay, in the grove of the temple and in the shadow of the citadel I have seen the freest among you wear their freedom as a yoke and a handcuff. <\/em><\/p>\n

And my heart bled within me; for you can only be free when even the desire of seeking freedom becomes a harness to you, and when you cease to speak of freedom as a goal and a fulfillment. <\/em><\/p>\n

You shall be free indeed when your days are not without a care nor your nights without a want and a grief, <\/em><\/p>\n

But rather when these things girdle your life and yet you rise above them naked and unbound. <\/em><\/p>\n

And how shall you rise beyond your days and nights unless you break the chains which you at the dawn of your understanding have fastened around your noon hour? <\/em><\/p>\n

In truth that which you call freedom is the strongest of these chains, though its links glitter in the sun and dazzle the eyes. <\/em><\/p>\n

And what is it but fragments of your own self you would discard that you may become free? <\/em><\/p>\n

If it is an unjust law you would abolish, that law was written with your own hand upon your own forehead. <\/em><\/p>\n

You cannot erase it by burning your law books nor by washing the foreheads of your judges, though you pour the sea upon them. <\/em><\/p>\n

And if it is a despot you would dethrone, see first that his throne erected within you is destroyed. <\/em><\/p>\n

For how can a tyrant rule the free and the proud, but for a tyranny in their own freedom and a shame in their won pride? <\/em><\/p>\n

And if it is a care you would cast off, that care has been chosen by you rather than imposed upon you. <\/em><\/p>\n

And if it is a fear you would dispel, the seat of that fear is in your heart and not in the hand of the feared. <\/em><\/p>\n

Verily all things move within your being in constant half embrace, the desired and the dreaded, the repugnant and the cherished, the pursued and that which you would escape. <\/em><\/p>\n

These things move within you as lights and shadows in pairs that cling. <\/em><\/p>\n

And when the shadow fades and is no more, the light that lingers becomes a shadow to another light. <\/em><\/p>\n

And thus your freedom when it loses its fetters becomes itself the fetter of a greater freedom.<\/em><\/p>\n

Khalil Gibran<\/b>, 1883 – 1931<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have a great weekend. We certainty will as\u00a0we chuck the political BS for a few\u00a0days. We leave you with the following… And an orator said, “Speak to us of Freedom.” And he answered: At the city gate and by your fireside I have seen you prostrate yourself and worship your own freedom, Even as slaves … Continue reading Freedom XIV<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-literaturepoetry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8ovtF-9b","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":458,"url":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/458","url_meta":{"origin":569,"position":0},"title":"Are We Really Who We Profess To Be?…","author":"Les","date":"March 19, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Here we are, precisely at the same place we were yesterday, last week, last month, and last year. Trying to determine just exactly how in the hell this nation of immigrants with the best governmental system known to humankind got so goddamned screwed up. A bunch of educated and liberal\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Crime\/Law Enforcement"","block_context":{"text":"Crime\/Law Enforcement","link":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/crimelaw-enforcement"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":283,"url":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/283","url_meta":{"origin":569,"position":1},"title":"Food For Continued Thought…","author":"Les","date":"February 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Given what we are seeing from the\u00a0Trump administration the following article by Yousef Munayyer\u00a0, written in 2015 and published in The New\u00a0York Times\u00a0seems especially\u00a0pertinent today. But maybe it's just me? Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from its consequences. The ideal of freedom of speech is one well worth\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hate Crimes"","block_context":{"text":"Hate Crimes","link":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/hate-crimes"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":399,"url":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/399","url_meta":{"origin":569,"position":2},"title":"On Freedom…","author":"Les","date":"March 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"He laughs; \u00a0\u00a0 when he does, his face opens \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 his eyes beam like moon and stars In the silence of his voice \u00a0\u00a0 no words exist \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 but the soft hum of an almost \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 forgotten song In the enclosed world \u00a0\u00a0 of his room \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 he opens up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Literature\/Poetry"","block_context":{"text":"Literature\/Poetry","link":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/literaturepoetry"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":574,"url":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/574","url_meta":{"origin":569,"position":3},"title":"Trump May Be In The Mood To Compromise With Dems To Get A Healthcare Deal…","author":"Les","date":"April 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cIf we don\u2019t get what we want, we will make a deal with the Democrats and we will have \u2014 in my opinion \u2014 not as good a form of healthcare, but we are going to have a very good form of healthcare and it will be a bipartisan form\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Government"","block_context":{"text":"Government","link":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/government"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":323,"url":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/323","url_meta":{"origin":569,"position":4},"title":"The Profound Words Of A True American President Who Understood The Meaning Of Liberty And Freedom…","author":"Les","date":"March 5, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Please listen to the words of President John F. Kennedy. Words spoken over a half century ago but specifically and especially relevant today. In the days of the Trump and his administration. https:\/\/youtu.be\/qvSD6If3zds","rel":"","context":"In "Education"","block_context":{"text":"Education","link":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/education"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/qvSD6If3zds\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":579,"url":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/579","url_meta":{"origin":569,"position":5},"title":"Koch Influence In The Trump Administration…","author":"Les","date":"April 4, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The long reach of the Koch bothers into American conservative\/libertarian politics now reaches to the Trump administration. \u00a0They have been actively involved in exerting influence on politicians for years. Their primary goals are to strip regulation on business and reduce tax responsibilities on the wealthiest of Americans. They must certainly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ethics"","block_context":{"text":"Ethics","link":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/ethics"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=569"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":570,"href":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569\/revisions\/570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rationalnationusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}