Jay, I like the principles of freedom in the Declaration of Independence (and the Constitution) as much as the next guy (that would be you.)  But when I hear conservatives like Glenn Beck, Michael Savage, Mark Levin, and a host of others try to flesh out the meaning of “freedom,” I have to admit that I believe they are reading documents from some other astral plane.

Here are my “Top Ten Things That Would Prove America Really Cares About Freedom”:

10.  When we spend as much time teaching our kids how to defend unpopular ideas and their peers who are not like them as we do teaching them how to play soccer.

9.  When we insist that war truly is a last resort and never again allow a President to trick us into conflict with lies or false information, like the Gulf of Tonkin incident or the presence of WMDs.

8. When we acknowledge that we still have a long way to go to even claim that Americans of all races are treated equally, even when we have an African-American President.

7.  When women are allowed to make and accept responsibility for their
own moral choices regarding their health and reproductive life without
constraints set up by largely male legislatures often frightened by
strong-willed minorities.

6. When we realize that the “founders”
of America were not just Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison and
other white males, but all those who moved us forward in the pursuit of
justice: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Dolores
Huerta and Cesar Chavez, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, and Chief Joseph.

5.
When every child born has the promise (one way or another) of a healthy
and safe life, and a we make a national commitment that all children
will have money available to go as far with education as they choose.

4.
When we all have the freedom to practice any religion we choose (if
any) and we don’t expect the government to “help” us or our ministries
or missions with even one thin dime of financial support or one square
inch of public space (even in the Mojave desert).

3. When we can
see that people we elect to public office really do realize they
“serve” us, not themselves or those with the disproportionate power of
wealth, and their legislative initiatives prove it.

2. When we
have a trustworthy and efficient health care system that allows us to
live life to the fullest and die without bankruptcy or indignity.

1.
When the Fourth of July is a day we reflect on how difficult–but
essential–it is to be a free, self-governing people with liberty and
justice for all.