Freedom....
Many
reading this are familiar with my black & white mastheads I
chose for my website each month. My first masthead was a picture of Picasso and one of his children. Subsequently, I displayed pictures of
Miles Davis & Steve McQueen, Lew Alcindor & John Wooden
and the 1914 University of Pennsylvania Rowing Team. My personal
favorite is the picture I used in May of a "General Store", taken in July 1939, in Gordonton, North Carolina.
General Store... 1939
And
with each month I choose a black and white photo I reserve the right to
pick a "color" picture in the month of July to commemorate our country's
birthday and the freedom's that are afforded to all of us that reside in the United States. Last year I decided to use a photo depicting the signing of
the Declaration of Independence.
The signing of the Declaration of Independence
This
year I chose to use the August 29, 1966 Sports Illustrated cover picture of Arthur Ashe. I
decided upon Arthur Ashe because I believed him to be a great
representation of what was/is good about our country while he was alive. I also believed him to be a
great example of an athlete displaying the kind of grace and class that
we could ever hope our children to display when they grow into young men and women.
I believed him to be a great model for fatherhood and a tremendous example of a husband.
I believed him to be a great model for fatherhood and a tremendous example of a husband.
Arthur Ashe
I believe Arthur Ashe to be as American as it gets.
Just
as a side-note, I love the picture of him in the regimental red and
blue tie, with a white shirt and a blue blazer, with the USA crest on
his lapel and the Sport Illustrated cover stating " America's Best..."
It doesn't get any sharper, classier or American than that.
Another side not, I think it's unbelievable how much Ashe and Tiger Woods resemble each other.
Amazing.
When
I look at that picture I see a man that is understated with a
non-threatening degree of pride that acknowledges the simple fact that
he is fortunate, he is American and he is free.
Freedom is wonderful thing that should always be acknowledged in the way we live, think and treat others.
Our freedom, and the freedom of others, should never be taken for granted or casually dismissed.
Freedom is wonderful.
And it is never free.
Red,White & Blue: A great symbol of freedom
And though freedom is never free I do realize after reflection that freedom is also a relative term.
And this brings me to the awful topic of Caylee and Casey Anthony and the issue of freedom.
We are to protect our children, not harm them.
And this brings me to the awful topic of Caylee and Casey Anthony and the issue of freedom.
(Aug. 9, 2005 - July 2008)
When I mentally review the tragic circumstance and event in my mind I immediately realize that I have more questions than I do answers. And the fact that Casey, her mother, acted more guilty than innocent after the fact perplexes me even more.
One immediately wants to know where the justice is for the death of such a beautiful and innocent girl?
What I realized is that justice doesn't always equal guilty.
We all should be familiar with this truth thanks to the O.J. Simpson travesty.
One of the jurors in the Casey Marie Anthony case is stated as saying, and I quote; "Not guilty is not innocent". I agree, but when you're not convicted of a crime you get all of the luxuries afforded to you that would be benefited to an innocent person.
So maybe you're not guilty, but you are free.
Many of you that know me know that I always try to identify the lesson that is there for all of us to learn.
This case is no different.
My goal is not to spend time on her guilt or innocence, nor do I want to spew hatred at Anthony. I just want to simply state that I believe her to be guilty of negligence concerning her daughter. She might not have committed the murder, but she knew what happened and how it happened, and there is no doubt in my mind that she was involved with transporting her daughter's dead body to be buried.
That last sentence was very difficult to type and to picture in my mind.
As I stated earlier it is my goal, my purpose if you will, to share with you a few points that were noticed by me while watching the case on TV and reading about it in the news papers.
Lesson #1:
The death of Caylee Anthony is a tragic example of an egregious lack of sacrifice on the part of her mother. The number one quality all parents, and grand-parents, must embody is sacrifice. Parents must always sacrifice for their children. Webster defines sacrifice this way: "the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim." As a parent we must surrender every desire to put ourselves first and destroy any behavior that threatens the security and safety of our children; there is nothing that has a higher priority or pressing claim than our children.
Lesson #2:
The death of Caylee Anthony is a tragic example, and reminder, that our decisions affect more than just us. When a stone is tossed into a lake it will always produce a ripple effect. The mini waves that are created will cast far beyond the initial entry point of the stone into the lake. Our decisions have a ripple effect also. One doesn't have to look any farther than the parents of Casey Anthony. I can't adequately describe the anguish and agony that their faces displayed throughout this whole ordeal. It was awful. The consequences of our decisions will always be shared with those close to us. It's important to remember that we are never alone in success or failures. Someone close to us will always joyfully share with us in our success and be distraught over our failure.
Lesson #3:
The death of Caylee Anthony is a tragic example that our actions speak louder than our words. My father has always told me that there is no reason to shoot someone with a gun when they have enough rope to hang themselves. Casey hung herself and showed the world that she was guilty and that the only thing that mattered was herself. No mother behaves as she did after her child was reported missing and ultimately found to be dead. No one behaves this way. In the end our actions will always speak louder than our words.
Finally, I would like to ask Casey two questions: What was your reason for lying to the police during the initial investigation? And what goes through your mind now when you see a young child with her mother?
Charles Stanley has always stated that you reap what you sow; more than you sow, later than you sow. Casey might have freedom from prison, but she will never have freedom from her thoughts and conscious.
She will have to live with this the rest of her life.
She will never be free.
Caylee on the other hand wasn't free of poor behavior and reckless actions that ultimately lead to her death, but she is now free from it ever happening again.
Caylee will always be free.
Thank God for that...
sbb 3.8.11
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