Yesterday Chris made a sign and walked over to the Ecuadoran embassy to stand peacefully for freedom of the press.
He was quoted in the Wall Street Journal, a quote which was later removed. I think he seemed too credible. Other quotes remained. He was interviewed and photographed. A photograph is now circulating around the world. I saw it first in the Washington Post, and it is in Russian papers, as is his name in an article in Sweden.
A friend sent an article from Australia with a photo of Chris at the top. Unfortunately, as the news cycle updates, the photos change, so it is no longer there, but it was fun to see him there for awhile. It is a modern world.
It shows the power though of making a sign, and standing up for what we believe, standing quietly, with clarity at the core. My sense is that when Chris next returns to the U.S., he will go through a little more at customs than he has in the past, but, who knows. Freedom - what a beautiful word, and we know what it means. We know how it feels.
Recently I watched the movie The People vs. Larry Flynt. Whatever one thinks of Hustler magazine, the Supreme Court decision was one for freedom of speech. We have a choice on what we watch and ingest, but openness and freedom allow us that choice. I am grateful I can stand with a sign, and proclaim my beliefs, but do I do it? Not often enough.
When I look at a photo of my son, taken in London, seen in Australia and here, I don't see my son. I see an opening in expressing what I believe.