How We Use Our Freedom

My neighbour, Tall, is launching a civil suit against her next door neighbour, Squat, for assault. This is in response to the police charging her with assault with a weapon. Her lawyer has advised her to shake hands with Squat and make up instead. But she doesn't want to. It irks her that he inconvenienced her, then hit her, and when she responded in kind, she was charged, and he got off scot free, as the poor victim even.

I understand her outrage. Squat behaved poorly and boorishly. But I am not sure I would spend my time, energy and money on getting even. She has already said if Squat and his wife were ever in trouble and knocked on her door for help, she would not help them. I am pretty sure that if my enemy knocked on my door for help, I would still help them, and use the opportunity to start afresh.

Then I came across a blog today called Baghdad Burning. The author was 24 when she started to document the effects of the war in Iraq on her and her family. she's been blogging for three years now as Riverbend. A UK publisher published her blog last year and is preparing a new publication of more recent posts.

I am touched by the observations Riverbend makes and by her ability to capture the moods and conflicts of her country in ruins. Here's a people fighting an internal war and external occupation. They are fighting for their freedom to be.

Our country is not at war. We are free. But in our own ways, we too are fighting each other for the freedom to be. The scale is not the same. But I can't help feel that we abuse our rights and freedom on petty concerns, as if we have nothing better to do with our freedom than to use it on self-indulgence. Like Bush fighting for oil in Iraq. So Americans can drive around in big cars and spend time watching reality TV.

I can't reconcile these discrepancies.