Surviving and thriving for 125 years is a real challenge, but not for Lady Liberty who stands as tall as ever, and is still a beacon of hope for many looking to America to provide shelter and a better life. Yesterday, Friday, the 28th of October, was the 125th anniversary of our Statue of Liberty who stands for the freedoms our country provides its people.

It is easy for us all (whether living in the USA, Europe or anywhere in the free western world) to focus on the (very real) problems we face

Lady Liberty Looks Good

today: The continuing stories of the Occupy Wall Street movement remind us daily of the downside of capitalism: where greed becomes the end all, and the well-being of humanity is no longer the focus.  It also saddens me to read the stories of violence against gay and lesbian youth because somebody decided the Bible says it is okay to hurt people in the name of religion, not to mention the very real lack of equal rights within this same community. And I could continue to go on and on about the problems facing the western world in 2011. But instead I would like to examine how liberty as a concept is doing 125 years after she was presented to the US, from the people of France, in 1886. According to Wikipedia:

The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture onLiberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886. The statue, a gift to the United States from the people of France, is of a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed the date of the American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. A broken chain lies at her feet. The statue has become an icon of freedom and of the United States.

Of course there are significant challenges facing the daily implementation of our core fundamentals according to our Declaration of Independence, but in general I think it is fair to say, that freedom is still the focus of countries not living with these same benefits. After our Arab Spring this year we have also seen the fight for freedom throughout parts of Northern Africa. Not the least of which is the end of  human injustices dealt by the Libyan regime under Muammar Gaddafi for 40 of those past 125 years, and now just this month the people of Libya are finally ringing the freedom bell after the demise of their dictator.  Then there are the masses of refugees in Africa moving for food, water, health care and other humanitarian basics…so in my humble opinion the search for freedom is alive and well worldwide.

What would Lady Liberty say if she could speak? Probably, she would acknowledge that we have come a long way: Hitler was defeated, albeit after thousands of people had perished under his regime, the policy of apartheid is no longer law in South Africa and so  many other dictatorships have been destroyed during the past 125 years. We now have the first African American President in the USA, despite segregation in the first half of this century. Would she be satisfied with the path “freedom” has taken in America? I am not certain. If the greed, which has been illegally and immorally fostered in the name of “capitalism” or “free” markets, were to continue at the expense of humanity: health care for everyone, education for everyone, equal rights for everyone, then I think the very foundation set by our founding fathers are at risk. The good news is we are able to exercise that very freedom of speech to communicate our displeasure, and we can learn from our past mistakes.

As we celebrate our lady looking proud to stand for FREEDOM, let us also consider the many faces of freedom and how we as individuals can help support the overall goal. Happy Birthday Liberty, and may the next 125 years see even more impressive acts of freedom.