Freedom is Just Another Word

One of the exercises I do in diversity training is to introduce a list of cultural variables and then have the participants choose and rank their top five. It’s interesting to hear them discuss the variables that are important to them and why. One of the variables is freedom. One participant said that she never thought much about freedom until 9-11. In a different workshop one group shared how that freedom was important to all of them, but that it had different meanings depending on the age and personal situation of the individual. As an example she said that the younger single members of the group defined freedom differently than their peers who were married with small children. It’s a matter of perspective.

During a trip to China in 2006 one of the tour guides continued to make reference to “when China was liberated in 1949…..” It was a perspective that I never considered. The Washington Post ran an article on June 4, 2009 regarding the many faces of liberty in China 20 years after Tiananmen Square. The points of view of Chinese citizens ranging in age from 11 to 76 were explored. The 11-year-old boy wanted freedom from his parents telling him what to do. The 22-year-old college student felt free to reject her parent’s wishes regarding her course of study at the university. The 29 year-old salesman defined freedom as financial freedom, while the 35 year old migrant worker was “free physically” to leave the countryside to work in the city. The 70 year-old couple lived through the government under of Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Tse-tung and the Cultural Revolution. One of them is concerned that perhaps today there is too much freedom, especially for the young people, while the other feels that since Tiananmen Square, life has been good, there is progress and harmony is being promoted.

Earlier in the week, on May 31, there were two other articles about freedom in the Post. One discussed the influence of American culture on Iraq’s language, culture and sensibilities. Ancient Mesopotamia was the birthplace of Western Civilization. Now it is influenced by American pop culture. A Baghdad sculptor was quoted as saying that “Yes the Occupation brought freedom, but it destroyed a culture too.” It’s a different perspective that needs to be considered.

The second article, about healthcare, discussed how doctors are not free to prescribe the drug they determine to be the most effective as that drug may not be on the approved list of drugs on the patient’s health plan. Rather, a less effective, but approved drug will have to be prescribed. Managed care and health plans have taken away the freedom of the doctors and patients. It’s a perspective that everyone should be considering and weighting in on as the debate about health care reform progresses.

Freedom is just another word that had different meaning for different people. It can also have different meanings for the same people in different situations. It’s a matter of context and perspective.

A Different Set of Lenses

Steve Long-Nguyen Robbins writes in his book "What IF?" that crucial conversations about diversity tend not to take place because we lack certain requisite skills. The most important is the skill to temporarily suspend our beliefs and worldviews to nonjudgementally entertain the beliefs and worldviews of others. In other words, we don't want to see the world through a different set of lenses because doing so may challenge our own beliefs and socially constructed reality that has become our truth. Yet if we never begin the conversation, we'll never break down the barriers.

I'd like to begin a conversation with a simple story about seeing things differently. About five years ago, we had a young relative visiting us from Norway. He and our son are the same age. One hot, humid Friday evening in June they were driving down Interstate 95 in Virginia when they encountered a rather sever storm - driving rain, thunder and lightening. My son cautiously pulled over to the shoulder of the highway until the worst of the storm passed, annoyed about the delay. Our cousin, on the other hand, was filled with awe, marveling in this show from Mother Nature. It was weather he had never experienced in Norway. It was a matter of perspective.

After he left the East Coast of the United States, our cousin continued his travels across the country. A year later, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, he wrote that during that stormy night he remember saying to our son, "I would love to experience a hurricane some day." My son answered, "No you wouldn't." His e-mail continued: "I cannot believe what is happening in New Orleans ... I didn't care too much for the city when I was thee, but now it is like a science fiction war zone and knowing that I've been there, I really fad sad." His experience changed his perspective.

We can't live another person's experience, but we can begin a conversation that will give us insights into their beliefs and views. having those conversations in a nonjudgmental way can broaden our own perspective. Begin a dialogue and try on a new set of lenses.