Freedom

The thing is, there are still civil rights issues going on right now.
The thing is, pride and loyalty are no longer ingrained at day one.
The thing is, we are united by soil, by language, by schooling, even something as simple as sports, but we are not all united.
The thing is, there is still slavery.
Yesterday I heard a man say that yes, human trafficking is real and it is bad and it is hard to fathom slavery existing in our country or in our world. But then he went on to say that in the grander scheme, it is a small thing in such a large planet. Also, he believes we are all slaves. Someone clarified, asking if he means we are all enslaved by the "grind", the "drudge", our lives, and he concurred.
I lifted my head up from my book, not able to tune him out. I looked around the room at the seven of us who were so, so very fortunate to be celebrating our country's Independence Day with friends, in a beautiful home next to the ocean, with food stacked all over the kitchen and dining area, and with families we can call whenever we want. And I told him in a clear, bold voice, "We are not slaves. We have no idea what it is like to be slaves. And we should never forget it."
The thing is, we are blessed to live in this country.