Freedom

This is my first post for some time and I am out of sync with any schedule but I wanted to take the opportunity of the 4th of July this year to write on Classic and Cozy Books about this seven-letter word, F-R-E-E-D-O-M.

There are many catchphrases that sum up what we think of our freedoms in America:

• "Land of the Free Because of the Brave" is one of my favorites. 
• "Freedom is not free" is another.
• "The high cost of freedom" another.

We often take these freedoms and rights (which are "self-evident") for granted and allow them to be eroded. As writers, we are the vanguard of the freedom of expression. When our freedom to create is undermined, we are the first to be silenced. 

At our own peril, we forget that the "Pen is mightier than the sword." 

Consider the fate of writers, artists and journalists on April 25, 1915 in Constantinople. 

Consider the years the Russian author, Alekzandr Solzhenitsyn, devoted to criticism of the USSR and communism, later credited with the destruction of the Soviet Empire.

Whether we write fiction or non-fiction, entertainment or education, our freedom to create is always under threat because that freedom is a threat to anyone who wishes to impose their ideas or beliefs with no regard for differences of opinion. 

This 4th of July, we will be celebrating our declaration of independence from a tyrannical, undemocratic government. At the same time, we can also celebrate our personal declaration of independence from artistic/creative censorship. 

Happy Independence Day!