I recently returned from a trip to the Baltic countries in Eastern Europe. These countries found themselves behind the iron curtain and under the rule of the USSR from 1945 until 1991. The freedom I have taken for granted throughout my life didn’t exist there. People lived in fear, not knowing who to trust, where anyone could be picked off the street and subject to interrogation or much worse. It was a harsh existence and it makes me appreciate the freedom I have today and the importance of maintaining it.
Freedom Is A Choice
In November, we have the opportunity to vote and choose our next government in the USA. The country is highly polarized and I won’t share my political opinions here. Instead I will highlight the importance of voting. Voting is the right to choose and choice is a fundamental aspect of freedom. People in the Baltic states didn’t have the right to choose. They were told what to think, what to believe, who to support and how to live. If we don’t vote, we are giving away our freedom even if we don’t believe our vote matters.
The Alternative
The picture accompanying this article is the previous KGB headquarters in Riga, Latvia. The goal of the regime was to sow distrust in the population. They achieved this by arresting people at random. Doing so created the belief you couldn’t trust anyone, thereby destroying the fabric of society. Spending time in the KGB headquarters must have been terrifying. Small cells held as many as 20 people. The bright overhead lights in the cells shone constantly. The fortunate were released after a few days but many were never released, instead sent to the gulags in east Russia. For some, they never exited the building alive, their bodies filled mass graves in the woods.
The people of Latvia regret accepting Soviet rule. In reality, they didn’t have much of a choice but they could have chosen to fight. Many did subsequently resist at great personal cost. My visit leaves me with a sense of responsibility to choose freedom and to exercise that choice by voting. I hope you will join me in November.