I’ve come to believe that we here in North America – Canada anyway – are not as free as we think we are.

On the surface it seems like we can say and do what we want … within legal limits, of course. 

In fact, there are more freedoms now for some things than ever before. Marijuana is now legal – that’s a new freedom. But at one time they put cocaine in Coca Cola and that was legal! 

… Maybe there are tradeoffs.

Still, I can go where I please and can say what I want. … But can I?

Can I express my opinion or will my ideas and actions be considered by some to be wrong, even against the law … to the extent that I keep them to myself for fear of being fined, constrained or even arrested?

I saw a video the other day that really disturbed me. 

A reporter – some call him a personality; I’ll call him a citizen – was walking alongside a Federal Minister asking questions. He had a camera crew with him and a microphone in his hand. The Minister was walking fast and wasn’t answering his questions. 

Suddenly a man dressed in black stepped up and blocked the citizen with the microphone. The citizen had his head turned and didn’t see this man step up and they bumped into each other. The man in black then grabbed the citizen and told him he was under arrest for assaulting an officer. The man in black was a police officer of some kind.

I’ve seen this move before in basketball; it’s called a pick. A player will stop and block an opposing player so his teammate with the ball can get around the opposing player.

That’s what happened in the video. The officer set a pick on the citizen and the minister walked around them both. The citizen was arrested for committing a foul. 

The only problem here was the officer was moving and moved into the citizen to set the pick. In a legal pick, the blocker must first have his feet planted and be stationary. In my observation, the guy committing the foul was the man in black. He should have been arrested … or the reporter should have been given two free questions to ask the Minister. 

I heard later that, after the reporter was arrested, they dropped the charges … and for good reason: it was all on video. (You can watch the video here.)

There was no assault; there was just a poorly executed basketball move to stop an annoying citizen (reporter) from carrying out his assignment. 

We believe we are free and, in fact, have rights to express ourselves in a legal way. But we are not as free as we think. 

Apparently, an annoying citizen can be arrested for asking questions that an elected member of Parliament does not feel particularly inclined to answer.

If you’re a person of influence or power, it goes with the territory that you’ll be stopped and asked questions, regardless of whether you want to answer or not.

Just ask any celebrity or sports personality. They don’t have people arrested when they’re asked questions they don’t like. 

Sadly, someone else can deem our expression as wrong and even illegal.  

… Which leaves us thinking twice about how we express ourselves and our freedom.

Here’s the thing: Many people think that to give your life to Christ is to give up your freedom to make decisions for yourself. But none of us are free to make our own decisions and think as we want. A Christian simply chooses to place his freedom under God’s rule. And we all place ourselves under those who were elected to rule over us, regardless of whether we think it’s good or not. One thing we can be sure of is that God has our best interests in mind.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: When have you felt you couldn’t express your opinion? Leave your comments and questions below.

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