Michael K. Cole Discusses Freedom and Why He's a Proud American with Aubrey AUBREY R. TAYLOR: What does freedom mean to you? MICHAEL K. COLE: I will have to say that when I was first shown these two questions, I thought that the two questions would be answered quickly and easily. I thought of glib and expected answers: freedom means the ability to chart your own path and that it is that freedom that makes me proud to be an American. Simple, non-offensive, everybody is left with the feelings of flag waving and hummingSoussa’s, Stars and Stripes Forever. But I think that would be disingenuous and one dimensional. And selling America and the American people short. Freedom means for me not just the words of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; it means a fidelity to our fellow citizens. Being a free person, does not absolve anyone of their responsibilities to their neighbors or their family, it heightens it. We as being free to choose our own path are also responsible for those choices. In nations where everything is decided by a dictator or an oligarchy, there is a freedom from responsibility… after all, there the individuals choices are made by another. Here, if there is rampant crime and gun violence, a failing economy, racism, a crumbling infrastructure or any of a multitude of other problems we have no tyrant to blame, no circumstance out of our control. We are the government, through our inaction or improper action, we made those choices. Apathy is not an excuse. Freedom does not remove you from responsibility to take ownership in our communities, our states and our nation. When a man is murdered because of no
other reason than the color of his skin or his sexual orientation, we are all to blame because we allowed that culture to continue till today. When a child in our great land lives in the hardest gutwrenching poverty imaginable, we are all guilty of abusing and neglecting our future. We can point fingers at the other party; liberals can blame conservatives and vice versa, but in the end, it is our fault for letting things continue. But that is also what is so great about this country as well. AUBREY R. TAYLOR: Why are you proud to be an American? MICHAEL K. COLE: Being an American means we ultimately struggle to do the right thing. We fought a Civil War to end slavery, we fought to give women the right to vote, we had our marches in Selma, and we fought DOMA. We still fight those injustices today. And thankfully we will still fight them tomorrow. Our greatness is not in the land, though blessed with a beautiful nation we are. Our greatness does not merely exist with our Constitution, though it is a work of art for how free people govern themselves. And it is not our military or technological might, though however strong they both are. Our greatness is in ourselves and our future. A spirit of people who do things not because they are easy, but because it is the right thing to do. A nation that is not of one race of humanity, but the spirit of all of humanity; a nation that is at its very motto “E Pluribus Unum” means we come from many backgrounds, from many lands, from many faiths… but, at the end come together.
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