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Description

What is freedom? It is the right to act, speak, and think without hindrance or molestation. To live within the law, with regard to the law as it affects others and ourselves. It is the ability to express beliefs, ideas, and emotions free from government censorship. Our First Amendment protects the rights of individuals regarding freedom of religion, speech, the press, the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. It assumes that the individual, not the government, will decide the value of speech.

Staggeringly, fewer than one-fifth of the world’s population lives free. Authoritarian actors have grown bolder as major democracies diminish, contributing to the decline of global freedom.

We are all disturbed by the war in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin has invaded a free country in a heinous act of aggression. His actions have destroyed freedom for the people of Ukraine, Russia, the Eastern European nations, and could possibly threaten western Europe as well.

My Country ’tis of Thee is a recurring theme throughout For Freedom; for we must express how important it is to let freedom ring. This melodic reference is a sentimental gift to the listener whose freedoms live in America: in their state, in their cities, and in the hearts of her citizenry.

After the opening fanfare, much of the tone of this piece is disconcerting and dark with lighter moments in the middle. At the very end; dissonance diminishes into an optimistic climax that encourages and uplifts the listener. Liberty has and always will exist on a knife’s edge in America and in the world.

Therefore, I dedicate this opus to American liberty, independence, self-determination, and ultimately – to the American people. May they always cherish and fervently strive … for Freedom.