Life, Love, and Liberty

Observing the unspeakable death and destruction engulfing Iraq from afar is a strange experience. I can read the latest headlines on Antiwar.com, or even watch a video with footage of civilian casualties, but the reality of the situation is still not completely real to me. Nothing I’ve experienced in my life can match what many Iraqi individuals have suffered as a result of the murderous actions of the American state, and various jihadists who promise them “liberty” in the guise of an Islamic state. It’s hard for me to entirely understand what it’s like to live a day in Iraq.

Iraqi inhabitants face fears and anxieties related to potential death that I simply don’t because of my far more comfortable existence. What is it like to wonder whether you will be randomly killed at a military checkpoint on the way to work in the morning? Or that your child will suffer death via mortar fire? Such are the questions that occupy the attention of countless individuals caught up in the slaughterhouse that Iraq has become.

It truly makes me realize just how precarious human existence really is. The comfort of being able to wake up the next day without being grateful that an artillery shell didn’t rip apart your household is something I take for granted. I don’t go to sleep at night with much in the way of thoughts except “oh; how terribly fatigued I am” or “I wish I was caught up in some wild sexual fantasy in San Francisco”. The latter thought being a possibility is entirely dependent upon the peace and liberty for which so many have striven in human history, yet so few have actually ended up experiencing.

I call upon those fortunate enough to find some enclave of liberty or beacon of happiness in this world to grasp it and never let it go. Let liberty be your shining light! The political value that provides the context for you to truly pursue your dreams in life; whether they be performing at that live musical show you always wanted to, or studying the game collection of your favorite grandmaster of chess, or being reunited with someone who you love dearly, after far too long of a separation.

To Life; the fountainhead — Randians nod their heads in approval here — of it all!

To Love; the feeling that underlies the most joyful acts of sexual intimacy.

To Liberty; the political value that provides the context to happily pursue joy and love in life.