Patrick Henry said “I disapprove of what you say but I defend to my death your right to say it.”
He also said “Give me liberty or give me death.”
Freedom of speech.
What good does it do to have a voice if we don’t use it?
Only in America do we still have the inalienable right to voice our opinions without fear of what will happen to us for daring to speak out, or to express in print, our secret thoughts and silent fears.
Only in America.
We must take a stand.
Back to the bottom line which leads me to ask what good does it do to have a voice if we don’t use it?
I’ve been criticized for exposing the physical and sexual abuse that I witnessed and experienced in a church run orphanage but I made a promise at the age of fourteen, that when I got out of there, that I would let everyone know what often goes on behind closed doors because I’ve seen children run away, in the night, not knowing what else to do to protect themselves.
How would you like to be a child with no voice?
Someone has said I’m an activist. That’s what I am. It’s my mission to tell it like I see it if for no other reason than it heals the pain of what I experienced as a child. As I reach out I hope to give others the courage to express themselves out loud and upon the page.
Writing is therapy and a means to give others courage to speak.
I am grateful God gave me a voice and I plan to express myself so long as I can hold a pen, though I must type it really fast while I can still read what I’ve scribbled in the middle of the night.
I sensed, as a child, living on a country road, in a densely wooded area, that I had a story that needed to be told, being born to a mother who was disabled for life, having suffered a brain trauma, at the age of two when she fell through the roof of the underground sod dugout house where she was born in 1906 dugout during the days of the Land Rush before Statehood, in Woods County, near Alva, Oklahoma.
Oh, what a story.
I am just grateful that by the grace of God I was born into this great country where we still have freedom of speech, freedom of press and freedom of religion as well as the right to own property embodied in “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” which are are ours as long as we don’t infringe on each others’ rights.
May we never slip so far into apathy that we lose our inalienable rights that our forefathers fought for!
Contact Sarah at [email protected]