Our Freedom of Speech

I sometimes wonder why I became a writer. Who impacted my life in such a way that influenced my life for the rest of my life? 

Though no one else in my family has written a book, two women in particular, showed me by example, that valuing our freedom of speech with the written word is both comforting and powerful. 

First, there was grandma who’d routinely spent her Sunday afternoons writing letters to her siblings who lived in far off and distant places. Advice, serious counsel, as well as family news was exchanged through their correspondence with one another. 

Consequently, when we moved away from Grandma, I started corresponding with her as well. She’d send me a birthday package of stationery and a book of stamps every year, which kept me supplied with the necessary tools to write to her.  

Receiving one of her letters, addressed just to me, was spine tingling, her words comforting. She sometimes gave advice, sometimes serious counsel, and always family news of the uncles, aunts and cousins we’d left behind. 

Then, after my father’s suicide, Mom began writing her case against the veteran’s hospital in Denver, Colorado where my father had ended his life.  

Mom had a manual typewriter and I’d hear the keys of that typewriter pecking out words late into the night. 

After four years, her words could no longer be ignored by those in higher places and she got her day in court. Mom made me aware of the power of the written word and its impact on people in high places.

Both Mom and Grandma are dead and gone, but their influence lives on in my life. 

I’ve written one book and have just sent off another manuscript to be published. 

I think my words are both comforting and powerful.

Comforting in a way that assures you that we share common things like family, tribulations and faith. And powerful in a way that I hope causes you to pause and consider thinking about things from a different point of view. 

Why Bother?

Why bother to value our freedom of speech? Whether journaling, writing blogs, corresponding through the U.S. mail, or publishing a book, we have the freedom of speech. Using it to comfort others or influence those in high places is a privilege.