We tend to think of moments of liberation as dramatic—tearing down the Berlin wall, the end of Apartheid, escaping from an abusive relationship in the dark of night. But all those dramatic moments of change started with something much smaller. A sense of possibility. A meeting to plan an action. The radical idea that things could be different.
What small impulse toward freedom or change do you see at work in yourself or in the larger world?
Freedom of expression includes the freedom to be fabulous, whether or not your version of fabulous matches up with society’s expectations.
How do you enjoy expressing yourself in ways that others find surprising?
“I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free… so other people would be also free.”
—Rosa Parks
How has pursuing your own freedom helped others to be free?
I am open, and I am willing
To be hopeless would be so strange
It dishonors those who go before us
So lift me up to the light of change
—Holly Near
What lifts you up to the light of change?
In June of 2015 the US Supreme Court declared that all couples are free to marry, regardless of gender. Which is to say that same sex couples gained the freedom marry, thereby giving up a variety of freedoms that go with being single.
When have you appreciated the freedom to choose restrictions?
