OPINION: What Is Freedom?
The murder of George Floyd and the subsequent protests did far more than elevate questions around police brutality, it provides an insight into the real meaning of freedom.
By Cori Blanch
GUEST WRITER
The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers was extraordinary for many reasons — it was caught on tape, and the offending officers were tried and prosecuted.
But it was extraordinary for another reason that has drawn far less scrutiny; a reason that helps us to better answer the question: “What is the meaning of freedom?”
Why So Much Attention?
As a Black man, I have paid close attention to the phenomenon of Black people being killed by police. Unfortunately, it’s not a novel event. As incidents of police shooting people to death continue to rise, Black Americans continue to experience more incidents than other racial groups. A study by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health last year found that Black people are also wounded in police shootings at a higher rate than other racial groups.
Clearly, shootings of Black Americans by police are not unusual. So why did the George Floyd shooting move people to turn out and speak up about this event as opposed to hundreds of other incidents in recent years?
Turns out, the pandemic created a perfect storm. Sheltered in place, unburdened by fears of losing their homes due to pauses in evictions and utility shut-offs, and lifted by aid that carried many through job losses and business slowdowns, people had the opportunity to use their voices in ways they don’t normally have an opportunity to do.
In short, for one of the few times in modern American history, people didn’t have to choose between engaging in the community and putting food on the table.
Being ‘Free’
Ask people what it means to be free, and oftentimes the answer revolves around some version of “doing what I want so long as I’m not hurting people.”
The George Floyd incident revealed a more-profound understanding of freedom.
To be truly free is to have a plan for your life, and to have access to the resources that enable you to implement that plan.
This means freedom to grow, and not just dream of building a better life. Freedom to engage and speak out against the injustices that impact our families and communities, to build relationships with decision-makers, and freedom to engage with the levers of power that allow this access to be given. The Black community and others have long known about the issues surrounding violence against Black people at the hands of the police. What critical masses of people have not had, however, are the resources and access to voice their concerns at a scale at which it could be heard.
Life is hard, and we are forced to make choices. Protest, or go to work so you don’t risk losing your job and your ability to care for your family. Speak out in public, or risk alienating more powerful forces that can move against you and destroy your life, as we are seeing with the mass deportation of immigrants today. This is a manufactured choice for people of all races that denies many the freedom we envision within the concept of the American Dream.
Especially for poorer people, these types of choices are all too real. And here in Fredericksburg, poorer people make up nearly 50% of the population, following the United Way’s finding on people who are Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — the ALICE population. People who work, but don’t make enough to cover their basic costs to live. How can we celebrate freedom for all, when so many of our community members are constrained by limiting factors that continue to restrict their ability to dream of a better, more stable life, and hamper their access to the resources that measurably would change their circumstances?
Expanding Access
If we are truly committed to building a free society, we must work to increase access and resources so that everyone can be involved in our public lives.
What does that look like?
Think about the ways that people are locked out of taking part in our society.
Health insurance: Even after the passage of Obamacare, which the current administration is working to dismantle, people’s health insurance is most often linked to their jobs, limiting their freedom to choose employment that can change their circumstances, inhibiting them from moving out of certain neighborhoods due to job location, or hamstringing them to poor work environments due to reliance on healthcare for themselves and their family members. Additionally, the number of people working at companies that can provide health insurance is in decline, or in the case of many small businesses, not available at all, forcing people to seek employment at larger companies that may not allow them pathways for career growth or connection to their communities. Especially among the poor, people without quality health care experience more health issues and live shorter lives than those with quality health care.
Transportation: If you have a reliable car, you don’t think about going to the store, or running to the doctor. But if you depend on public transportation in our community or others, such simple acts can become onerous. Moreover, if you depend on food banks to supplement meals, you may not be able to access the help you need. All this takes away time from engaging in public forums and limits people’s ability to exercise their right to have their voice be heard.
Community Engagement: To work for change means to engage the powers that be. In the local community, that's elected officials on the School Board and on the City Council. For working families, these meetings can be difficult, if not impossible, to get to. Perhaps it's time to begin creating new pathways for people to engage civically so that their voices can be heard.
Many more choke-points to access could be named, but the point is made.
This July 4, celebrate the freedoms that we have, but also take time to think about the ways that freedom is denied, and how that can be addressed. Because after all, in the land of the free, shouldn’t that mean freedom for all of us?
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Thank you for writing Mr. Blanch. Overall, a moving piece.
Only one quibble. You write about Americans needing better health insurance. Agreed that the ACA made insurance more accessible and today's Republican party has just successfully gutted that minimal improvement. Agreed.
But I would posit, that as beneficial as President Obama's legislation was, it was still an compromise. One that still under serves.
We don't need better health insurance. We need better health care. Without insurance companies whose main motivation is profit gaming the system.
With the current system, we're trying to ride a sick horse. Rather than getting a better system overall.
Every other 1st and 2nd world country gets this done. Better, cheaper, more efficient.
Just basic healthcare. Guaranteed. And if those with the means want to pay for an upgrade through insurance, let them.
But we should be investing in taking care of our citizens basic health needs same as we would invest in maintaining our tools, caring for our crops, tending our lands. And quit acting like it is some privilege, only given to those who toe the line or are fortunate to work for a company that has the means to provide it to them as a company benefit rather than a citizen's right.
Still, thoughtful letter, and thank you for writing.