by Lori SR

Over a century ago a bell rang out. It stood in the bell tower of a hallowed place called Independence Hall. It proclaimed liberty throughout the land. Sometime afterwards the bell stopped ringing. It cracked. Perhaps it was saying there was a crack in our resolve to proclaim liberty and freedom throughout all the lands of the earth. We profess to be free and yet fail to see the chains of our own surrender to the fact that in this world, violence, murder, warfare and hatred still exists. One day a man goes on a shooting rampage. Who gave him that gun? We did and people died and others suffered. A week later a student brings a gun to school and accidentally wounds other innocent students. And if that is enough, shortly afterward a policeman is the object of a gunman who showed no qualms trying to kill him. 

And yet we claim to be free. The bell of freedom doesn’t ring, because there’s a crack in our façade. Underneath every one of us from one end of the earth to the other fear and mistrust of our own brothers and sisters still exist … just because they speak a different language, are a different color, believe differently, worship differently and think differently. We are not free … we are not free yet. Underneath lies a disappointment that we haven’t reached that golden age where brother and sisterhood reign and love rules the universe. Where’s our peace of mind?

But the bell can ring once again inside of our minds and hearts. Let everyone of us proclaim liberty and freedom throughout the entire planet. Let us all join together and bring in the great age that has been promised to us by our loving ancestors.

2000 years ago, a Jewish rabbi was killed because he modeled a way of life that one could aspire to. Where are Abraham, Martin and John? I thought I saw them coming up over the hill. But, the good die young. I look around and they’re gone. But their spirit lives on rattling deep inside of us, waiting for us to change the world and bring about peace for our children and our grandchildren’s children. It is our inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is our absolute duty and obligation to love and spread love throughout the world … to channel whatever residues of hatred lurking deep in our souls into creative efforts … to reshape the entire human race and create a belief system that ties us all together. That is the supreme and highest value of love. For love supersedes all other beliefs, thoughts, ideologies, practices and political viewpoints. Let freedom ring and proclaim liberty throughout the planet, for we are all entitled to safety and peace.  From Beijing to North Korea … from Moscow to deep in the heart of Texas … from the Philippines to the Andes to the jungles of South America …  from the great horned tip of Africa to the deserts of Egypt … from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Aqaba … from Israel to Iran … from Gaza to New York City … from London England to Paris to the streams of the Amazon … from the Nile Delta to the peaks of the Himalayas, let us proclaim liberty and freedom throughout all the lands of the earth.

We have the capacity to end war and violence. Why not take the guns out of the hands of those who would use it to destroy others and turn those guns into the plowshares of love? We can create opportunities for every human being on the face of the earth to earn a safe and secure living, to own and maintain one’s own vineyard and household, and receive adequate health care. After all, our great American Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, created on the third floor of ninth and market Street in Philadelphia by the mind of Thomas Jefferson, promises equality for all human beings, no matter what their standing in life, no matter where they live, and regardless of their circumstances.

The Time is now – NOW – to proclaim liberty throughout the land and free everyone from the burdens that plague them. Let love spread across the entire planet and create a totally new universe – a universe of equal opportunity for all God’s children, not just the elite, with total access to all the goods, services and resources that this planet has to offer. Let freedom ring out and proclaim liberty throughout the entire planet. A great day is coming when the lion shall lie down with the lamb, and we shall make war no more and violence will be a thing of the past. It will be a day when no man will feel superior to another man, for we are all endowed with equality at birth and every human on this planet has equal access to all of the bounty that the universe has given us. 

If not now, when? Let us not fall asleep under the drug of gradualism. Let us all stand up and proclaim liberty for every one of God’s children, for each of us is endowed with a holy soul created regardless of one’s station in life.

It is time for peaceful action, devoid of all hatred and hostility. Let love be our guide. Let love become our universal principle. We are told to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, might, and soul and to love our neighbor as ourselves. That isn’t just the guy next door. It’s the poor family in India or those in need in Moscow, Russia, Indonesia, Kenya … from the North Pole to the South Pole … from each end of the equator to the other … from every mountaintop and skyscraper … from every hut, tent, sidewalk and skyscraper … from the homeless park bench and the back alleys of our cities and towns to the green pastures and the treetops of every forest and lawn.

Don’t say “tomorrow I will begin”. Open your mouth, your heart and your soul and start proclaiming liberty and freedom throughout the entire planet today. Hate no person and believe nothing is impossible, for every one has his hour and there is nothing that is not in its place. Justice and mercy are two sides of the same coin. Proclaim liberty throughout all the nations. Reach out to your brothers and sisters … lift up the downtrodden, for the meek shall inherit the earth and the haughty shall be brought down. Proclaim liberty and freedom throughout the entire world.

We must all become more understanding and judge our neighbors and ourselves carefully. We must be just and merciful in any act of judgment and all pre-judgment must cease from prejudice and discrimination. It is written that Thou shall not kill, murder, steal, etc. We are the “Thou” and when we are not the “Thou”, we reduce ourselves and others to an “it”, object or a thing. Our entire global community … all nations … can be built in the image of God who is both truthful and all merciful, wherein right is kept right and wrong is put right.

Many of our governments claim to be doing only what is good. Listen to all the political rhetoric. What is good? Does it mean putting to death the enemies of the government, overtaxing citizens or waging war? The great rabbi, Gamaliel, warns us to be mindful of the ruling powers, for they bring no one near them save for their own need: they seem to be friends at such time as it is for their own gain, but they do not stand by a person when he is in distress. The power of government comes first from the people and ultimately from God. All people from all walks of life and all areas of the world are created equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.

We are warned to beware of the evil eye. Have a good eye – see the good in others and don’t judge them by the color of their skin, ethnicity or religion. When you fill your heart with jealousy and hatred you develop an evil eye. Take the evil out of your eye. What good does it do you to see the evil in someone else’s eye if you do not see the evil in your own eye? Judge others by their character and the content of their souls. Seek the sacred within the ordinary. Seek the remarkable within the commonplace. Proclaim liberty and freedom throughout the entire planet and let the bell of liberty ring again.

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