Today, May 5th, is Cinco de Mayo.  Although it is not Mexican Independence Day (traditionally celebrated on September 16), it is nonetheless a day to remember:  Mexico's 1862 liberation from an oppressive French occupation.  A stronghold of economic and political might before Europeans arrived on its shores, Mexico spent several subsequent centuries toiling under the weight of various foreign nations who, unfortunately, viewed Mexico primarily as a land to be exploited for their own use.

     It's an all too familiar story:  imperialistic Westerners marginalizing and abusing the rest of the world. 

    Freedom can be messy and complicated.  Nonetheless, despite its complexities, freedom to be, whatever we become and, to a point, regardless of how others view it, is preferable to never finding freedom at all.