September 11, 2009 – America remembered the anniversary of events that sent the country into mourning the loss of some and resolve to seek retribution. The country was both stunned and united in spirit. Eight years earlier, freedom was assaulted.

Not far from the sixteen-acre site that was known as the World Trade Center stands the Statue of Liberty, a beacon to everyone, everywhere that America stands for freedom.

Americans are free to choose where they live. Americans can choose where they work. Americans can choose whether or not to participate in any of a number of religions. No terrorist group can take away those freedoms. They can knock down buildings; they can slaughter innocent American citizens, but they cannot destroy freedom.

Americans are free to argue among themselves about freedom, itself. How do we define freedom or, more importantly, how do we practice freedom? Freedom cannot be defined by any means other than how it is practiced by the population. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, an 18th Century French philosopher who was born in Switzerland, wrote, "Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains."

No one would argue that certain freedoms must be sacrificed in order to participate in an organized society. No person is free to rape or rob or murder another person. Common sense causes us to put on chains that prevent us from doing certain things. But common sense does not always rule the day. Some might say that common sense rarely rules the day.

Americans have the freedom to choose other chains that restrict how they live. The unbridaled use of credit is one example of how many citizens chose to limit themselves. We are not free to do whatever we want when we are chained financially to someone or something else. And, of course, there are a number of citizens who want to restrict the freedoms of other citizens.

Don’t you find it interesting that we proclaim as shameful the way women are treated in some countries because of religious dictates while many Americans want to restrict others based on religious dictates? There can be no religious freedom if it must be based upon the interpretation of another religion.

Freedom is defined by choices. Freedom is chained when choices are chained.