The symbol of liberty. The symbol of freedom. The symbol of the things we now do not have.

It is quite debatable if the ideals and vision of the Founding Fathers still lives in today’s United States. I would say that those ideals and visions still live, conditionally. I find that today, most if not everything, happens conditionally. If the conditions allow it, life; liberty; pursue of happiness is our common motto. If the conditions can not afford such noble aspirations, those are words in a history text book. That, what I think, is the true American spirit.

A friend of mine often boast about how ’street smart’ he has become. I cannot deny that what he says is quite true, but I also see how a conformist he has become. His soul is void of an original thought. He takes what is others’ and calls it his own. He is a jigsaw of others’ image and behavior. However, nonetheless, I think he would be quite successful. In this world of conditions, one must adhere to the numerous conditions the society has placed on us. Society would love him, I have no doubt, given his amazing ability to become a social amoeba. The question is, would you be someone else for someone else? I’ll take a wild guess that my friend has already answered the question.

Let me take a line from King Baldwin in the movie “Kingdom of Heaven”.

“none of us know our end, really, or what hand would guide us there. A King, may move a man, a father may claim a son, that man can also move himself, and only then does that man truly begin his own game. Remember, that how so ever you are played, or by whom, your soul is in your keeping alone. Even those who presume to play you be Kings or man of power, when you stand before God, you cannot say, that I was told by others to do thus, or that virtue was not convenient at the time. This will not suffice. Remember that.”