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The Right to Be Free -- by Kate Womack

9/13/2018

3 Comments

 
As a kid the song “The Star Spangled Banner” used to mean so much to me. That song always filled me with pride.  I was proud to live in this U.S. and I believed in the words of that song. My favorite part was at the end, hand on my heart, with tears in my eyes, heart bursting with joy, we would all sing, “ The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.” These words rang so true to my young naive heart, oblivious to the real world around me. As I grow older and the world changes around me, watching as human kind progresses, as we evolve as people, and technology grows, and medicine becomes more and more advanced, it was amazing.
As an adult those words “The Land of the Free and The Home of the Brave,” break my heart.  They do not hold the same magic as they did to me so long ago. America is not the land of the free, as our anthem claims to be.  America has advancd in so many ways, but lacks the ability to see past one’s own mind.
Oxfords Dictionary defines Free as an adjective, adverb, and verb.
  • Adjective; Not under the control or in the power of another, able to act or be done as one wishes
  • Adverb; without cost or payment
  • Verb; release from captivity, confinement or slavery
In 2018, even with all our advancement, there is a community of people who are truly not Free, denied the right to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.  Transgender humans struggle and fight every day to be free.  They fight within themselves to find out who they are, not knowing where they belong, and scared to be who they are meant to be. Once they can accept themselves and start trying to be free of their chains that bind them and keep them from being happy, they have to fight with loved ones and society now to be able to be free.
Gender Dysphoria is the distress a person experiences as a result of the gender they are assigned at birth, that this assigned gender does not match the person’s gender identity. Could you imagine going your whole life knowing something to be true, but no one believed you or they shamed you for knowing the truth?  That is what America and society is doing to Transgender Humans.  We are calling them liars and refuse to believe their truth.  Society tries to group these amazing, brave, strong humans with those who hurt people for pleasure and denies them their right to know freedom and peace. Transgender humans are not monsters.  They are humans same as you and me.  Their souls and minds are trapped in the wrong body.  Imagine for a second that you are trapped in a small hole you can’t see, hear, or move.  No one can hear your screams.  You are all alone.  How do you feel,  scared, alone, no way out, stuck forever, wishing someone would hear your screams for help?  Imagine feeling this way your entire life. This is how someone with gender dysphoria feels every second, every minute, every day of their life, regardless if they set themselves free or stay trapped within themselves, all because others are unable to see past their own beliefs.  Just because someone is different or does not carry your same beliefs DOES NOT give you the right to say they don’t matter, or have the right to live free, to know peace, feel safe, and be happy in their own skin.
“Stop judging others for their beliefs, don’t be a part of the pain someone already feels!” Be the antidote that saves their life.


3 Comments
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