Kris Kristofferson
Frydor Dostoevsky
It was a strange duo to wake up thinking about. The two aren’t normally connected. Kris Kristofferson, the Rhodes scholar, Army captain, legendary singer songwriter and Fryer Dostoevsky, the Russian novelist/theologian. But this morning they were on my mind, because of the idea of freedom.
You can probably sing along with Kristofferson’s wonderful song, Me and Bobbi McGee, made famous by Janis Ian right before she died. The chorus has that memorable line, “Freedom’s just another word, for nothin left to lose.” What to you have when you lose your freedom? What do you do when you give it away?
That is what led me to Dostoevsky. In his marvelous novel, The Brothers Karamazov, he has a story within the story that everyone should read, “The Grand Inquisitor.” In that story Jesus reappears in the midst of the Inquisition and is thrown in prison and interrogated by the Grand Inquisitor himself, who knows who Jesus is!
He reminds Jesus of his temptations, and says that the people really wanted bread, power, spectacle. Jesus gave them none of that, instead giving them freedom! The Inquisitor says that they have given them what they want! All for their freedom.
Last night a candidate for president had a rally in Madison Square Garden, the nation’s center for spectacle. He gave a presentation of raw power that would be released upon their “enemies,” those who are different. He promised prosperity, a return to the good old days!
All this for the cost of their freedom. Just let me be your dictator!
Freedom is a burden! It means that we have to make decisions and then accept the consequences of those decisions. Do we really want freedom? We’ll know in a week!
Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose…..