Freedom has been on my mind this week. On Remembrance Day--this past Tuesday--I was sitting at my computer as 11am approached. Last Call played on the radio and I found myself standing, facing the window looking North across my country, and preparing for a moment of silence.
In silence, I honoured freedom. I honoured my country, Canada, which allows me the space, both physical and mental, to be who I am. I do not support war, generally, but when I consider the basic human rights my grandparents fought to preserve, I am awed. When I imagine the atrocities of the concentration camps my sexual identity would have landed me in, tears fill my eyes.
I am free. I am free to speak my mind, even when my opinions are unpopular, even when my radical feminism sparks controversy. I am free to walk my girlfriend to her car, to kiss her lips as I say goodbye, with little fear of prejudice and no fear of imprisonment. To me, this is the greatest freedom of all.
We Canadians don't say this as often as we should, but...I love my country. Consider this a love letter to Canada.
Bright Blessings,
Giselle Renarde