Freedom or comfort?

From Larry G., my best friend in high school

There is an old Saying that I don't hear much anymore, but that was very commonly used in my Family when I was growing up.

The Saying is "It is Mind over Matter". I have pondered that saying a lot over the years and have come to believe it means different things in different circumstances. 

One of the most common meanings as I was growing up was "If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." That meaning led to a general attitude of "I don't care" in our house. You could never show feelings as that was a sign of "Caring" and Caring was a sign of weakness. We developed an almost "Animalistic" attitude toward pain and emotions.

Here is an example of that attitude, a Raccoon my two brothers and I found caught in a Steel Trap in a Creek near our House in Avinger.

Someone had set a steel trap in a creek that ran along the road where we lived, A Raccoon had stepped into the Trap and caught its front leg between the foot and the "Knee" joint.

In an effort to free itself, it had gnawed its foot completely off leaving the bone exposed. Unfortunately, it had chewed the leg off below where the Trap was attached.

Us "Boys" rescued the Trapped Coon and took it home and "doctored" the wound with whatever medicine we had. The Coon recovered and eventually the leg healed. It ate well and regained its Strength.

We thought it should be happy with a nice Cage, plenty of food and a warm dry Bed, but it wasn't. All it lived for was to break out and be "Free" to live or die on its own.

It eventually tore out of the cage and ran off. We never saw it again, but saw the "Tracks" of the 3 footed Coon in the same creek where we found it.

This was Nature's example to me that "Freedom" is more important than "Comfort".

I see our Government today the way that Raccoon saw us. The Government thinks if they provide us with Food and Housing we should be happy and allow them to control every aspect of our lives.

Personally, I would rather starve to death or die trying to live free than to live in a Government "Cage" where they feed me, but allow me no freedoms of thought or action.