thirteen ways of looking at citizenship

I started this blog a couple years ago with the philosophy that we are healthier - emotionally, mentally, spiritually, when we let ourselves look at life from many different angles - when we allow ourselves to open ourselves up to possibilities.  I've been interested over these years in the number of times I've found myself writing about citizenship and 'current events.'  I am surprised to find that I believe our role as 'citizen' actually impacts our emotional life and health.

So here's a blog that's been cooking since August (maybe that's why it's so long).

In the August 6, 2012 New Yorker, Ryan Lizza profiled Paul Ryan.  The following quote was attributed to Mr. Ryan: “Only by taking responsibility for oneself, to the greatest extent possible, can one ever be free,” he wrote, “and only a free person can make responsible choices—between right and wrong, saving and spending, giving or taking.”  http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/08/06/120806fa_fact_lizza#ixzz2B3vsd5DZ

I've done a lot of thinking about this.  I am juxtaposing the thinking about freedom Mr. Ryan has done as a politician and the thinking I have done about freedom in my work as a therapist.

I should probably back up.


I have to confess my political leanings, in case you haven't guessed.  I lean toward liberal.  In the past, I have been probably what I would call a 'knee jerk' liberal.  My father, a Republican in my childhood, and now maybe an independent, used to accuse my mother of brainwashing me during my naps as a child by playing Peter, Paul, and Mary and the Kingston Trio and other peace and love hippie music.  Certainly FDR was a big, big hero on my mom's side of the family and therefore, to me.  And of my generation, I was influenced by the Cold War, the threat of nuclear holocaust  - does anyone else remember, "The Day After" ?!?

Then, I spent over the last decade of my life as a social worker.  In that time, I have seen nearly every kind of social problem, every kind of illness, every kind of ruinous living condition that you can imagine, but not as many of those situations as some of my colleagues.  As you know, the problems are staggering, and the answers are inadequate.  It can feel overwhelming.  If I found it depressing to visit a crack house to deliver adult diapers to a dying man, I couldn't begin to imagine being the ex-girlfriend who took care of him.  I saw that government programs existed, but didn't always help.  I saw people on disability and food stamps carrying cell phones and smoking cigarettes.  I saw children who were abused and the government system did not keep them safe.

And then I think about freedom. About taking responsbility for oneself, as Paul Ryan says.  And in the face of vast suffering, I can at least consider how and why it might feel like the best answer to whittle complexity down to a simple belief, i.e., "This country is founded on freedom, not collectivism.  If each person or family took care of his or her own, and left the next to take care of his or her own, we would not be subject to paternalistic and cumbersome policies and in a state of freedom, social problems would diminish and people/enterprise would flourish."  I can understand that thinking in a way that I used to not understand it.

Yet in this,  I come back to wondering about definitions of freedom - freedom to do what?  Freedom from what?  Are we talking about  the freedom to make money?  Are we talking about free access to healthcare?  To marry who you want to marry?  Who's freedom?

There are many different kinds of freedom, which makes this discussion even more nuanced.

I have no delusion that government is the answer to every problem, or even the one answer to any one problem.   But, I want to continue to raise the question about meaning - what can we mean by freedom?  When Republicans and Democrats talk with one another, are they using the same understanding of the word, "free?"  Before we judge 'the other guy' or 'the other position', it might be good to figure out if we're even talking about the same thing.

One thing we can agree on is that because we have this democratic society, we can talk about these issues publicly and without fear of retribution, and we can make the most well-thought out choices we can when we vote on Tuesday.

I am not a knee-jerk liberal any longer.  I am a liberal who is willing to consider with respect a more conservative outlook.   Back in the day, my dad used to accuse me of being naive, mostly due to my dove-ish tendencies, but I don't feel naive.  I feel like I am compelled to think and learn about every point of view and reach my own conclusions. I hope you will feel that way, too.