When I immigrated to the United States within the late 1970s, I was 17 years old. Most of my family was still in Iran, along with the exception of my brother and the wife, I didn’t yet have many connections here. So I stayed with my sister-in-law’s family, including her father — a Czechoslovakian-born American citizen who served in, after which retired from, the U.S. military.
I clearly remember an earlier conversation with him in which he told me, “Bahram, America is the foremost country in the world. Here, you will find the freedom to be free — if you’re smart enough.”
He went on to explain that our attention is usually directed toward issues that drive certain agendas but don’t necessarily protect our freedom. It’s on everyone, he stressed, to notice when we’re being distracted and reclaim our focus, never to take freedom for granted, and also to always do our part to safeguard it for generations to come.
His words have been echoing in my mind recently because of the way so many aspects of our lives were quickly upended through the coronavirus. To a degree, we have experienced what it’s like for the freedom to be limited — and we're now more awake to how important it's to have and fight for.
Just as our forefathers bravely fought for a better way, we too must do what we can to preserve that liberty and pursue happiness — those unalienable rights which are detailed in the Declaration of Independence.
To do this takes a willingness to look at our unique circumstances from all perspectives — to go past the headlines and surface-level information for that facts and to learn the truth to live in.
We have to be open to the discomfort of other positions and viewpoints — because how things appear to me over here may very well look different from where you’re standing. Imagine a six-sided cube: From most angles we can only see three sides; to assume the other three look the identical limits our ability to see other possibilities.
As I believe about the freedom that my sister-in-law’s father and a large number of others have fought and sacrificed for — and that we are all responsible for protecting — I also recognize courage. The two are inseparable foundations of our nation’s foundation.
It’s with one of these sentiments that I wrote the following for my website a few weeks ago. Once we mark the 244th anniversary in our great nation’s independence, I’m sharing it with you here in hopes that each people recognizes and accepts our civic duty to be courageous about protecting our invaluable freedom.
We Are Americans
Together, we've become the greatest nation because of the courage and freedom of those that came before us. Those who, despite fear, had the courage to move forward. Who understood the power of freedom and knew it was their responsibility to protect it.
It’s because of their courage and freedom that people also have the strongest economy and are truly the leaders of free enterprise.
And now, the country we’ve built, and the people we love them for, are under assault: attacked by a virus, besieged by a collapsing economy. Constantly bombarded with distorted facts, and shrapnel of agendas and opinions.
Our precious freedom, once strong, has quickly become fragile. Our democracy threatened, liberties compromised, a promising future at risk.
As Americans, we're called upon now to rise and defend what's sacred.
To commit to our own courage and press forward. To acknowledge our fear, and then fight it.
And the way to fight fear is with facts. It is time to dig deep. Decipher the data. Apply logic.
Look whatsoever viewpoints and see every perspective. There is nothing as it first appears — never as good, never as bad. The first glance may give you one angle, but just like the six-sided cube, there are multiple sides to each story.
Even what seems like dire situations provide possibilities to grow, gain strength, acquire knowledge.
Facts — examined through the lens of multiple perspectives — will allow your brilliantly capable, beautiful mind to come to its own conclusions.
It is in the mind of every citizen that courage and freedom start.
And together, through one collective beating heart, we answer the phone call to protect and care for the country we love.