Freedom

[ftil]

Well, my thread Mythology and Religion is Art was closed. Well, it was not enough to stop posting paintings in original size. An act of desperation I guess. :yikes: Buddhism and Hindu religion must be an uncomfortable topic. Exposing child prostitution in Hindu temples, sexual expatiation of female students by gurus or violence must be hidden at any cost. But threads about prostitution, public nudity, or perverted sexuality are very welcomed here. :devil:

Closing my thread inspired me to to find a poem about freedom.

Without Freedom Still by Raymond A. Foss
We gathered, took time off,
pondered our freedom,
on the anniversary
our Declaration of Independence
when we dissolved the political bonds
when we proclaimed, to the world,
what we hoped for, what we believed in
as a people, set apart,
that we hold these truths to be self-evident,
that we are born equal, each one,
that the creator gave us unalienable rights,
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

How wondrous are those words,
how much we have achieved
casting off the chains that hold us back
how far we have to go; but
We are free, by most measures

How hard life must be
in the many places on the globe
where people are not yet free
where there are people still
in the grip of slavery, in bondage,
in fear for their lives,
for their children’s lives
for any kind of future
for religious persecution,
indiscriminant death

How blind we are,
to the realities around the world
How silent we are
to the evil that stalks this sphere
How much more we could do
if we took our freedoms more seriously
and invested in justice
to the four corners
of this troubled planet