Reflections on Liberty

On the 6th of December, Brendyn and the O'Brien family went to visit NY in the care of our two guides, Danny and Eric. We spent the evening of Friday the 5th in a Sheraton in Hartford, Connecticut, where Danny, Eric and Brendyn would draw straws to decide who slept on the floor!

The following morning we entered the Big Apple. One of our first landmarks was the George Washington Bridge.

After passing about 37 buildings all called "Trump Place", (All that money brings little imagination!) we arrived at the New York stock exchange which thankfully wasn't emitting the sounds of weeping and gnashing of teeth, because it was a Saturday!

After that, we headed down to Battery Park and boarded the FREE Staten Island Ferry which would take us close enough to get a better look at Lady Liberty.

I was looking forward to the moment when we would sail past the Statue, as I had seen drawings of the Irish immigrants entering New York in the mid to late 1800s. The symbol of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness must have been a sweet site to the travellers after the harrowing trip to escape the clutches of the exploitive English empire. My direct ancestors had only managed to make the journey from famine stricken Ireland into the clutches and coal-mines of the English oppressor in the industrial north of England. I felt it my duty to complete their flight to freedom, all be it 150 years later.

The ferry trip was cold! Parental duties abounded as we kept a watchful eye that Michael didn't end up in the water and Caleigh wasn't abducted. As we passed the statue on our return trip I wondered whether I would have an opportunity to reflect on what I was feeling while seeing it literally in front of me.

Sensing the need for my moment of solitude, Heather gathered the children and took refuge in the warmth of the enclosed area, leaving me to ponder in the presence of one of the most famous sights on the planet.

I realised that the statue of Liberty represents something more than the American nation, it was after all created by the French, whose brutal grasp at liberty was far from ideal. Nevertheless, the French claim to have invented democracy and I suppose it was an act of French congratulation that inspired the gift of the statue.

I believe the ideals of liberty belong to no nation. Instead they are woven by God into the DNA of all mankind. Since Eden, man has a magnetism to slavery and God's intention is to restore man's freedom. God's desire is that every man bow only to Him. Subordination to a fellow human is below the dignity of humanity, the crown of creation. (Note: subordination is different to voluntary submission in the name of love)

The statue is fittingly situated just offshore, apart from the mainland, in almost a independent embassy to all who want freedom. Lady Liberty belongs to the world. If the French slip in to the slavery of unbelief, if the Americans slip into the slavery of debt, freedom will always call to those seeking it. The statue itself has no power to secure deliverance from slavery, only the name of Jesus can.