Freedom we take for granted.

The concept of a court imposing a death sentence for converting from one religion to another is difficult for me to understand. As a child, raised as a catholic and growing up in the early portions of the 1950 decade other cultures and religions were foreign to me. I have early memories of the church’s involvement in the daily activities and planning of my family. I recall two Nuns’ from our parish periodically stopping by and visiting with my Mother and Father in the living room.

The sight of their habits traditionally sent me running for the safety of my room, incorrectly assuming I was to blame for something.

Visits from the church today are a scarcity except in extreme cases of severe illness their involvement is rather limited. It is unimaginable to think you could face the death penalty for dishonoring that faith.

Birth as an American assures we live under freedoms citizens of other countries do not have. This places us in an enviable position by some, yet others violently hate us for it. Religion can be a dichotomy of values leading to arguments each of us has learned to avoid. Situations such as the issue in Afghanistan of a court invoking a death penalty over a freedom we take for granted appalls some of us. Personally, reading of this case only made me more thankful to be an American