This was written by a dear friend of ours, with whom we attended church today. Thank you for your wise words, Luke. We are honored to know you and call you friend.
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My grandmother Ruby was an artist. Whether it was repairing a garment or canning corn from her giant garden, she took pride in her work. You got the sense that she took advantage of every outlet for her talents and creativity. In her spare time from raising 6 kids on a shoestring budget, and getting the family’s ranch chores done, she loved to paint. She painted a little on canvas, but mostly china, and had her own kiln. She gave my sisters tea sets, and I got a quilt. By far, her favorite artist was Norman Rockwell. His series on the four freedoms appealed to her politics and sense of Americana, and she cherished their messages.
I’ve been thinking a lot of those paintings lately. With Thanksgiving next Thursday, we all know his most famous of these. Freedom From Want shows an excited family set to feast on a turkey dinner. An idyllic scene from 1943 doesn’t cut it today. There are eleven people at the table. Somebody’s got to go. Do we really have freedom from want today? Empty store shelves and hunger in the eyes of people who have lost their jobs speaks otherwise.
In the age of Coronavirus Overreaction, I think a lot about the Freedom Of Worship. I take this lockdown as a complete affront to my Constitutional Rights. This spring, on Christian’s holiest day, Easter was cancelled. That same day it was illegal to take my family to church, rioting terrorists ran unchecked, burning and looting cities across our nation. Business and property owners of every race and creed were ruined because of the impotence of our leaders who are strangled by their own ideology. That day I prayed for the victims, their color did not cross my mind, and I prayed for our country.
Relentless media stories bombard us every day with new statistics. Fear sells newspapers. Politicians are adept at turning that fear into votes. That was no different in 1943 when Rockwell painted Freedom From Fear. In this scene, a couple tucks their sleeping children into bed while the husband holds a newspaper relaying headlines of the war in Europe. I’m pretty sure those folks would have been afraid, I would have been. However, that didn’t stop them from going to work the next day. I don’t think the couple in that painting could comprehend not being able to send their children to school. Myself, I had a hard time writing a check for property taxes to fund a school building that isn’t being utilized. Are we setting a good example for our children by letting our fear rob them of their life’s opportunities?
I think the most powerful work in this series is Freedom Of Speech. A man dressed in flannel and a dirty work jacket stands up to speak at a community meeting. A financial statement is rolled up and sticking out of his pocket, his rough hands rest on the bench ahead of him. Everyone attending, including the viewer is turned and looking intently at what this man has to say. We can’t see the head table, but it is obvious who is commanding attention and respect in that room at that moment. Our country needs more people like this, willing to arm themselves with facts rather than emotion, and stand up and speak for what they think is right. I am positive they will find the attention and respect they deserve.
Everyone knows my politics. I am proud of my beliefs. Yes, these paintings have been used by conservatives to depict an ideal America, nearly to a point where they have become a caricature of our society. However, in an ironic twist, Rockwell painted these Four Freedoms to honor a State Of The Union Address that Franklin D Roosevelt gave to Congress in January of 1941. Arguably the most “progressive” president our nation has had identified these four freedoms as essential to bolster his country for a world at war. Sadly today, “progressives” have taken Freedom From Want, Freedom Of Worship, Freedom From Fear and Freedom Of Speech and virtually made them illegal by decree. They are so progressive that they have literally reversed their position in the last 80 years. What country is this? Which Constitution did these leaders swear to uphold?
In light of the recent events of our Governor Inslee’s renewed lockdowns, I will be protesting in the best way I know how. I will exhibit Civil Disobedience by attending Church, as that is my Constitutional Right. We are instructed to “render unto Caesar” in Matthew, and Romans guides us to subjection of the governing authorities. So do we follow the written Constitution, or do we allow this Governor to take our rights away? (Part 1)
