Hopefully it won't fade from the news, the crisis in Libya. My heart reaches out, and I try to make sense of what's happening. The revolution's purpose is to get rid of a dictator,and also to achieve freedom, right?
The dictionary definition of freedom is "absence of restraint, coercion or necessity of choice or action." Pandora's box opens; by this definition no one is really free, since we can't do whatever we want if it involves hurting others or taking away their rights. Now in Libya the rebels are under fire. How can they agree on creating a new government, or even achieve unity when so much sacrifice is required?
I take basic political freedoms for granted and complain about the lack of habeas corpus at Gitmo, or the recent threats to collective bargaining. The day to day accounts of the chaos, death and pain happening in North Africa force me to wonder: what is so important that I would sacrifice my comfort and my life for it? As an artist and educator, do I just express my ideas, or do I have the courage and integrity to walk them?
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