FREEDOM — Who Is Free? And From What?
Yesterday my 11-year-old son and I saw Monsters & Minions in the theater.
What caught me off guard wasn't the monsters.
Or the Minions.
It was the women.
The movie is set in the 1920s, and the women were marching for the right to vote.
It struck me that America was about to celebrate 250 years of "freedom," yet for the first 144 of those years, women weren't allowed to vote.
It made me wonder...
What exactly do we mean when we celebrate freedom?
Freedom for whom?
And freedom from what?
We often imagine freedom as something governments grant us.
Freedom of speech.
Freedom of religion.
Freedom to vote.
But there is another kind of freedom that no law can guarantee.
The freedom to say no.
The freedom to leave.
The freedom to be believed.
The freedom to speak without being dismissed as "crazy," "emotional," or "difficult."
The freedom to make decisions about your own body.
The freedom to exist without constantly having to justify your existence.
Family court taught me something I wish weren't true.
Women can have the legal right to speak and still not have a voice.
You can file declarations.
You can testify.
You can present evidence.
And still spend years feeling unheard.
A voice is only meaningful if someone is willing to listen.
To believe.
To respond.
Freedom is not something we achieve once and keep forever.
I think every generation is asked the same questions:
Who still isn't fully free?
Who still isn't being heard?
What systems still require people to earn rights that should have belonged to them all along?
As I watched those animated women marching across a theater screen with my son beside me, I realized something.
He hasn't learned about women's suffrage in school yet.
So after the movie, we talked about it.
I hope he grows up understanding something deeper than dates and amendments.
That freedom isn't measured only by constitutions.
It's measured by whether people can safely tell the truth about their lives.
Whether they can leave what harms them.
Whether they can make decisions about their own futures.
Whether their voices are treated as fully human.
America is 250 today.
Freedom is still becoming.
Reflection:
This essay reminded me of one of the cards from my Rebirth Oracle deck. It explores another kind of freedom—not the freedom granted by law, but the freedom to reclaim your own voice.
From the Rebirth Oracle deck by Natasha Bacca.
A woman tilts her head slightly upward, eyes closed, lips gently parted. From her mouth streams a golden ribbon of light--fluid, radiant, alive. It curls through the darkness like breath becoming starlight. Her expression holds both serenity and strength: a return to truth long held back. This card honors the sacred reclamation of your voice. There was a time when silence served as safety. But you’ve outgrown that form of protection. Speaking your truth is no longer dangerous—it’s liberating. The glowing energy flowing from the woman’s mouth symbolizes not just words, but
essence: your authenticity, your needs, your wisdom coming alive again.
Message:
You silenced yourself to stay safe. You’re safe now. Speak. Your truth deserves breath—let it rise.
Affirmation:
I honor my voice. I express my needs with clarity and confidence.
Journal Prompts:
1. When did I first learn it wasn’t safe to speak up?
2. What do I most need to say—but haven’t yet?
3. What helps me feel safe to speak my truth?
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With love and deep gratitude to walk alongside you,
💖 Natasha
Divorce Doula • Certified High-Conflict Divorce Coach • Certified Mediator
Educator • Survivor • Advocate • Author • Artist