Allegory for LibertyJanuary 19, 1987Copyright © 1997 Property of Deborah K. Fletcher. All rights reserved.
I am Liberty. My mother was Freedom, who serves all creatures of the earth. My father was Justice, who balances the good and evil of the earth, tempering his rulings with cool reason. I am a melding of my parents. I guarantee equality to all who follow me. I deal with rich and poor, educated and illiterate, healthy and handicapped, black and white - all alike. I scorn no man who does not scorn me, for Freedom has taught me that each man must follow his destiny, though that may be different from the destiny of another man. i judge no man without basis, for Justice has taught me the value of learning all sides of an issue, and of considering not my emotion, but the greater good. In the course of my life, I have often been abused by men who did not truly know me. My name has been given to enterprises by those who have no understanding of my nature. Men have repressed men, using my name to legitimatize injury and ignominy, and forcing such things on those who should have been their equals, had I been invoked in fact as well as in name. This is great tragedy, for in abusing me, they have also abused both my parents. Freedom is outraged every time one man prevents another from doing anything, so long as the act which he has prevented would have done no damage to the common good. Justice is outraged whenever men deny other men the right to follow Freedom, the wife of justice, for reasons of race, beliefs, or origin, for these reasons do not originate in the cool logic which Justice always upholds. Please View and Sign My Guestbook © 1998-2000 Debbie Fletcher, joiya@tcia.net
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