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Across the Fence:  Freedom...For contemplation....  |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 10 2004 : 12:58:54 PM
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As I sat this morning machine quilting a blanket for my grandaughter's upcoming birthday, I couldn't get one thing out of my mind.... What would it be like to relinquish your freedom, being unjustly tried as Martha believes she has been?
I do not profess to know alot about her or her life, and I'm not one to follow her entertainment trends, but I do admire her for her work and determination and for making taking care of the household an honorable endeavor once again.
So, as she began her term on Friday,these questions went through my mind: a strip search on arrival? sharing immediate facilities with dozens of women? No privacy? Standard issue clothes and boots? Taunting women?
I must say I don't know how I would endure such a situation, even for five months. I think I'd have to remove my innerself from the experience, leave it safely tucked away somewhere, and just face the day-to-day of it with pure grit and determination to see it through to the end.
As I'm sure Martha is focusing on the fact that her spring gardens await her at this event's conclusion, I would probably do the same... but would it serve me well to have that as my focus when I would need to be surviving the situation at hand? Perhaps it would just be an "out there" goal to hang on to....
Not trying to pass judgement either way on this situation, but in this country when anything is happening lately and things seems to be running amuck everywhere, it makes me stop and give thanks for my anonymity, and my quiet, peaceful life... as simple as it may be.
Has this crossed anyone else's mind of late?
****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****
"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb |
Edited by - Clare on Oct 10 2004 1:01:35 PM |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Oct 10 2004 : 1:45:14 PM
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Clare,
It has and I have wondered how truly annonymous we really are with our personal lives privacy being so invaded on a daily basis for reasons that are suppose to support our safety?!Just an example is that I do most of my bill payments to the banks online due to the fact that if my payments arrive even a nanosecond late ( even if I mailed it 10 days before the due date) the creditors not only ding me for a late payment but submit this information to the credit bureau as a 30 day past due payment which in turn reflects on all other credit transactions. I could not believe my eyes when I read the fine print on the last three enclosures with my credit card statement that says that if I show a late payment within a three month period to ANY CREDITOR in a one year time period that even if I was never late making a payment to them they reserve the right to raise my interest rate to the maximum allowable rates of 24.999%. Are we really annonomous? I was patted down at the airport in June because I have an artificial knee. So they wanded me and the underwire in my bra set it off. Next time I travel I will not wear a bra! I am surprised it went off for that and not for the zipper in my jeans. Go figure. I was told by my neighbor that if I go to the county I can view a very detailed arial photo of my 5 acres taken from above that shows everything I have been working on this summer out side my house. The drug enforcement department takes these photos to catch growers of marijuana but somehow it does not seem to help them catch the processors of crack and meth. At least they still do not look through our walls as far as we know. Am I annonomous? Every check I write, every credit transaction and even a lot of cash transactions can be followed because even the grocery stores are monitoring their customers purchasing habits with their little incentive clubs that make groceries cheaper if you belong to the club. Am I annonomous?
How do we protect ourselves from this invasion of our lives? I have never felt so unsafe in all of my life even though as far as I know I have nothing to hide.
Eileen
songbird |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Oct 10 2004 : 3:34:11 PM
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I also have contemplated the "plight" of Martha. Martha came from very humble beginnings. She built her "empire" with sheer guts, fortitude, and hard and tireless work taking at least 30 years. I also admired her spirit to elevate homekeeping in our society. I have different theories about why this happened to her but her money and influence did not seem to matter at this point. Martha should make this imprisonment a learning opportunity. Hopefully she will come out of it a little wiser and humble. She seems to be a survivor.As for our "freedoms" it depends on who you talk to and their station in our society. All this information and records are kept on people from the day they are born and for what end purpose? When my youngest daughter was born in 1992 and I was recooperating in the hospital I recieved a chilling phone call from a woman who said she was with an office of statistics. My daughter was born 6 weeks prematurely because I had pre-eclampsia. The woman asked my age, when I sought prenatal care, my pre and post pregnancy weight, my and my husbands ancestory, our education level, if we had private insurance and other intrusive questions. She said I had to answer by "law". I answered agreeably as I had nothing to hide and I was weak and tired from just giving birth by c-section. I have often wondered about that call. I live a low-key anonymous and quiet life. I guess if I can live free in my mind, and not worry about the insanity of the world then it's OK. But it still makes me wonder why.
Time Flies |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Oct 10 2004 : 5:11:33 PM
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I wonder about these things all the time and try to stay cautious to the point of blunt with folks who call and ask information that is truly none of their business. My standard response has been of late"well, I 'd be happy to look over any literature you have to send me please don't contact me again." This has seemingly weeded out those who did not have honest intentions, but our state has adopted
a do not call list and we have subscribed to that as well.
As for calls regarding your children... ask for a number to verify who they are and call them back before answering any questions! My son was a premmie too and Univ. of Penn asked to follow his development for the first five years for a study they were doing. We even had a code to verify. Any one who is legitimate should have NO problem being cautious when it comes to the safety of your family.
As for BIG BROTHER watching...I have adopted the opinion that most of the time it is in my best interest (safety cameras, etc) but it is a huge and often unnecessary intrusion to my privacy as a quiet, peaceful citizen to have my purchases, spending habits, medical and RX needs documented and monitored by people who know and care nothing about my well being. Our freedom has a price and it has nothing to do with what is going on over in Iraq.
Pray for peace-- Bramble
with a happy heart |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
Posted - Oct 10 2004 : 6:52:44 PM
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Well ladies, I agree with you on many points; however, I choose not to live in fear, and use my common sense and protect my privacy whenever possible. But I think the focus of my original question got lost somewhere....
What I'm curious about is, if it came right down to it in your life circumstances, you ended up going to prision for an unjust cause... how do you think you'd survive the ordeal? I've seen enough movies to know that in any set of circumstances it's not a piece o' cake.
That's what I was contemplating while sewing this morning... just the simple act of using my sewing machine, to create what I want, when I want.... those are the things I cherish and those are the things relinquished in such circumstances. And my quiet time, rather than being guarded, even minimally, and herded about... those are the simple freedoms that I value. I suppose some people may need to be humbled, but it goes beyond that...
****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****
"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb |
Edited by - Clare on Oct 10 2004 7:07:09 PM |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Oct 10 2004 : 7:35:12 PM
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Clare-- Personal freedom is something we must cherish, guard and preserve for ourselves and our loved ones. Although cautious, I have never lived in fear but looked before I lept. I have tried to live my life making decisions and knowing that I will be able to sleep at night because I did the right thing and that I caused no one harm.As for Martha's current dilemma...it is not for me to judge what has put her there but my heart, my spirit aches for her. I know it must be an unbearable situation for anyone.For someone like Martha, who finds her sense of self by the things she creates drastically impaired, I think she will have to find an inner reserve to return to again and again so that she has an escape from the present reality. Will she survive this experience? I certainly hope so. Your question was about would we survive emotionally, spiritually... I would like to think so. I would never be the same but knowing I had the abilty to regain that life I so cherished would be my incentive. The depths of my soul have been tested before and I believe that spirit and love will persevere, and overcome .Let's hope Martha has a good supply of both.
Bramble
with a happy heart |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - Oct 11 2004 : 09:48:54 AM
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Clare -
My freedom is so important to me. I never take it for granted. I think I would be very scared to face women in prison who have had to be tough survivors. I know just what you mean about the freedoms we have - something so little as being able to go to the grocery store when you want. Sleep when you want. Choose how you spend your time. And for Martha, who probably could never fathom losing her freedom, even if she pushed the envelope, this must be a deep shock.
I would think that they will take extra precatuions to keep someone famous safe, even though that may not be evident. I do not know how they could allow something terrible to happen to her - it would be very bad press for the prison she is in, and get a lot of people in trouble.
jpbluesky
Love those big blue skies and wide open spaces. |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Oct 11 2004 : 10:28:27 AM
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Clare, Bramble,All,
I also agree with you . I choose not to live in fear because as far as I know I have no reason. I too cherish my freedom and feel a deep sense of gratitude that I have this sort of freedom to live where I have chosen, to have a small but significant impact on the environment where I live and a chance to place my vote where I feel it will do the most good. And as with you bramble I can sleep at night because I believe I have made decisions based on knowing what the right thing is and doing no harm. I carry no guilt to bed with me. I believe in dealing with things as they come up. As for Martha, I do not know enough to have an opinion about her inocence or guilt but must believe in my heart that our criminal justice system works. I am not naive enough to think however that it does not make mistakes either. I also know that some big companies who do enormous wrong are allowed to stall for years before they make restitution to those that they have harmed(example Exon Valdese, I have friends who were seriously impacted by that disaster and Exxon has still not fulfilled their obligation to settle with those poeple.)I think that what happened to Martha was a part of a landslide after the fact and she was somehow in the middle and caught a backdraft. There are others I am sure who did a greater wrong that will never face prison. I think that Martha is the type of person with enough personal fortitude that she will come out of this OK.I would be willing to bet that when she does come out of it we will have a female force to be reconed with as far as our personal rights as citizens are concerned. I do not see her as a whinner or cry baby but a get it done person no matter the cost. I think she will become more political in the fight for personal freedoms. I know that in my heart if I were in a situation where I was thrown to the loins I would do all in my power to change the system. She has the money and personal backing to be effective.
So to get back to your main issue Clare, what I said about my own personal freedoms and how I do not feel we are actually annonomous in this world, I value highly all of my personal freedoms and cherish every day I live with them but still watch carefully those things that could creep up unannounced to take them away and I have some issues that I feel have gone over the edge in this current state of high alert that this country is presently experiencing. One issue that concerns me is how the banking system of the world has taken over our lives and without due cause in my estimation they can legally charge interest rates that by written law constitute usurey.Having experience the loss of most of our retirement income base during the big fiasco a couple of years ago where our investments dissappeared over night I cherish this piece of land but do not take it for granted that it will be mine forever.
Eileen
songbird |
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cecelia
True Blue Farmgirl
497 Posts
cecelia
new york
USA
497 Posts |
Posted - Oct 12 2004 : 8:36:37 PM
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It is late and I do not have time to read in depth or contemplate everything here. Will get back at another time; however, freedom is much to be cherished. I do think that most of us are law-abiding but need to be more aware of what is happening, first in your own area, then spreading out from there to the world situation. Things can occur very quickly if we are not watching (not being fearful, but on guard). I saw a cartoon in which Martha was in her cell, with another woman, who was not of her "class"; as the bars closed, the caption read "just think of it as a gated community". Most of us are from humble beginnings, some of us still are in such a state, and do not know what it is to have riches (i.e. money) or a lifestyle like Martha, but we all stand to lose everything if we are not watchful.
Cecelia
ce's farm
"Curiosity is one of the forms of feminine bravery" Victor Hugo |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Oct 13 2004 : 08:53:14 AM
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I agree Cecelia, we must be ever watchful in todays world. As an American I probably take my freedoms for granted everyday. But I personally know that freedom is not "free". There is a price to be paid to be a free human being in this country. Too many have paid the ultimate price so that myself and my children, grandchildren can breathe freedom. It seems that every generation experiences some losses of personal freedoms. But then, there are gains in freedoms for new generations. If I were incarcerated I can only guess at the fear and panic I would feel. To be told when to do the basics of living, to be watched continuously, no privacy would be unbearable. This brings to mind a quote I read that a wrongfully imprisoned African American man wrote in prison in the 1930's: " If I have freedom in my mind, and in my soul am free, angels alone that soar above enjoy such liberty."
Time Flies |
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TheSoapMaven
True Blue Farmgirl
691 Posts
Susan
LA
USA
691 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2004 : 03:12:09 AM
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I know I am new here and should tread lightly. But I have to say I think Martha will be fine. My mom (who is a big Martha fan - as is my dad) thinks she got a raw deal. If she had been a man, even a man of means, not such a big deal would be made. But mom did tell me just day before yesterday that Martha already has a following in the jail. She is in the kitchen, teaching about eating right and no telling what else. Her company stock is up. She'll be fine. In fact I think she will be better. And she won't be bit by this dog again. Keep your nose clean Martha!!! She knew better than what she did. I have no doubt. But it happens every day. One of those things where someone got caught...and it had that old famous trickle down affect.
I think she will make the best of these 5 months. And will have much to learn from it. I get really REALLY upset and sometimes loudly about injustice. I think the punishment should fit the crime and so many times it doesn't. Or horrible HORRIBLE things go unpunished. But Martha is made of strong stuff. She will prevail, she will walk out of prison in 5 months into the bosom of her adoring fans. And she will be back on top in no time. In my humble opinion.
Blessings & Bliss!.· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-
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((¸¸.·´ .·´ -:¦:-~Susan~
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*
Wife, Mother, Natural Woman, Savonnière, Writer, Baker, Gardener.
Soulmate to Jerry for 30 years
Mom to Zach, Gesikah, Nathan, Hannah, Rachel and Benjamin
Yetta to Sam
If your knees aren't green by the end of the day, you need to seriously re-examine your life. |
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Across the Fence: Freedom...For contemplation.... |
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Freedom...For contemplation....
