I’ve got a few questions about freedom…
Thinking today about book bans and imposing the beliefs of one religion on everyone.
If we don’t have choices, if we don’t hear other opinions, and if we can’t learn from many perspectives, how will we grow as humans, as individuals? Will our minds atrophy? Will fear be our primary motivator instead of love? Doesn’t fear lead to hate instead of love? Don’t we agree that belief is a choice? How can we try to contain a God into one way of being? Our minds are so tiny.
The Creator made so many different beings, shouldn’t we celebrate what we learn from each other and that we exist?
I don’t understand why one way of being, of seeing the world, needs to be imposed on people — and all other perspectives banned — don’t we and our children become stronger by learning not to touch hot stoves and jump off cliffs and about bullying through experience? Isn’t laughter a healing gift, and who hasn’t laughed about farts? Why would the existence of a sparrow offend a blackbird?
Education of children is how humans have survived. We see the frontiers, wonder about the stars, and imagine new possibilities.
I have talked about the problems of thinking of education as a pipeline — because it treats students too passively and doesn’t allow for creativity. We abandon our imagination and creativity at our peril.
I can’t help but believe that the goal of this life is to learn to respect and love ourselves and others. This takes our entire focus to achieve. If we are made in the likeness of God, then imagination and creativity may be as close to the Creator as we can get.
