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The Battle For Freedom
Last night Kathy and I decided to go to a concert at the Historic Canton Church.
This church was built in the 1870’s in the town of Canton.
Canton now sits at the bottom of Canyon Ferry Lake but the church was saved and today used as a community center just outside Townsend Montana.
It was 90 degree’s out but that didn’t stop folks from coming out to see The Ruby Valley Boys and Barb Wire put on an hour long concert inside the old church.
The band is made up of ranchers from the Ruby valley not too awfully far from here.
Kathy and I walked in as the strangers and stood in the back. It didn’t take long for someone to come back, welcome us and tell us about this landmark townsfolk are very proud of.
There is no air-conditioning and the paper fans were flapping to make a breeze but no one was complaining.
At one point the group sang “Country Roads by John Denver” and everyone in the room joined in.
I couldn’t help but think I had just been thrown back in time 40, 50 or 60 years.
Just prior to getting to the church we were scrolling through news feeds about all that’s going on in this country and now none of that mattered. The comments on social media, the arguing over truth, and on and on…..didn’t matter in this church filled with people.
Freedom is alive and well in place like this all over this country. For people here freedom is part of life and you get the feeling they not only respect that but honor it.
In other parts of the country freedom truly is under attack.
But really “they” can only take what you let them and here, no one’s letting go of anything.
At the gym yesterday my playlist had a song I haven’t heard in years, Lee Greenwood singing “America The Beautiful”.
As I listened part of me thought “people sure don’t think like that anymore.” But then as the words rolled off his tongue and into my soul I thought “no, now is the time to fight to get back what we’ve given and what they continue to try to take.” I thought “people do think like that, they just haven’t been able to say it out loud until now.”
I find in order to fight for something you have to lose it or feel the threat of losing it and in our country both are happening and people are waking up.
Maybe for the first time in some of our lives we are actually going to have to fight to restore and keep our freedom?
Back in the little church my mind wanders.
Everyone in this room knows what’s going on in the world.
But it doesn’t appear to consume them.
I’m sure it concerns them.
But there’s a difference.
When you work hard you have less time to think about the “what ifs”.
When you focus on taking care of each other you have less time to meddle on social media.
People can talk all they want but action speaks louder than words and is more powerful in the end.
There is a time to speak out and that is now.
To settle down, back down or hide means the loss of what so many have fought to keep.
But there is also a time to immerse ones self in the joy of day to day living, without the noise.
The power of community is impressive.
So here we are on a little hill with our new neighbors, singing in an historic church that has seen it all, and the words echo through Canyon Ferry….
“Country roads, take me home, to the place, I belong.”
