One of the things I look forward to during my down-time is reading.  On Galahad, our library (unfortunately) does not consist of very many real books.  It’s a space/weight issue.  So instead we have books inside our computer banks, and (fortunately) it includes tens of thousands of titles. Dr. Zimmer and his staff wanted to make sure we took most of Earth’s great history of literature with us to Eos.

The book that has held my attention for the past few days is a collection of essays, written by young people from around the planet.  What makes it interesting is both the subject, and the background of the writers.  They were told to write an essay on freedom…yet each of the kids is from a country where their freedoms are either non-existant, or extremely limited.

I was struck by their points of view.  Growing up in America, I know that I (like almost all Americans) take our freedom for granted.  We have almost dishonored our freedom by forgetting its power, by forgetting what it cost us to achieve, by forgetting that it is truly a gift.

Yet these kids brought such a beautiful perspective to the concept of freedom that I almost wept.  What must it be like to live in a world without the freedom to speak openly, without the freedom to travel where we would like, without the freedom to express and create?

On our ship, privacy is at a premium.  Obviously our ability to move about is limited, as are the resources at our disposal.  Yet each one of us is fortunate enough to know that we have freedoms granted us, that we are taking the concept of freedom to a new world.  Our crew consists of teenagers from all over the world, some of whom might be having to adjust to the notion of true freedom.

It’s up to me, and to all of us who might have taken it for granted, to never forget how precious it truly is.

(Okay, Galahad bloggers…thoughts?  Isn’t it always eye-opening when we talk to someone from a different background?  Have you noticed how they might force you to look at your own life in a new way?  Are there things you have taken for granted?  Post your thoughts.)