There will be patriotic songs, speeches by politicians, and tributes to lives lost. Journalists and pundits will ask us, “How has your life changed since September 11?” Most certainly, Wolf Blitzer and Bill O’Reilly will be there, red-faced and doing their talking-head thing.

Soon Americans will mourn the one-year anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001.

But how will you answer the question? For most Americans, it can be argued that little has changed. Perhaps some people have gained a greater sense of family, love and safety. And possibly we in Iowa are more concerned with an attack that could affect the country’s food production. Certainly those who lost loved ones in the attacks have had their lives changed.

But another answer will undoubtedly be that we now have a greater appreciation for our freedoms. Right. Us versus them. Good versus evil. Freedom this, freedom that.

This is never more evident than on the Fourth of July. We put on the old glory gear. We go to the parade in the morning, have a cookout at a local park that afternoon, drink cold lemonade and then smear on the insect repellent before finding a nice country road to watch the fireworks from the back of the pickup, right?

Why? Because we are celebrating our freedom. That’s right, we honor the document written in June 1776 by Thomas Jefferson that demanded freedom from England. There was also the “all men created equal” part, too.

Well, a fellow intern and I were part of a summer program together in Washington D.C. and we had heard that the fireworks on the National Mall were not to be missed. So was she going to join most of the group to watch the fireworks display?A simple question with an obvious answer, or so I thought. It’s a standard thing for rural folks to do on July 4.

The answer was no.

Why? Because this person, who happened to be African-American, said that the 1776-style freedom was not intended for people of color and there was simply nothing for her to celebrate.

Her people were enslaved in the American Colonies and would remain that way for almost 100 years.

The word freedom will once again come to the fore this month for the September 11 anniversary. Exercise caution when throwing that word around.

Ask an American Indian about the billions owed to tribes for the resources taken from tribal lands over the years. These are resources for which they are guaranteed compensation.

Ask someone in south-central Los Angeles about state of their public schools. Why does the school look like that? Where is the theater or music department? Where is the funding?

Ask about life on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. The rampant poverty, lack of opportunity and funding for education will only be the beginning of the answer.

Ask a Muslim man with a beard what it’s like to ride a plane or be in an airport.

Ask a lesbian about being out or getting married.

Ask someone from a predominantly African American or Latino neighborhood about “redlining” at the bank.

We won’t even start on foreign policy.

Hold on a second, you say, we may not be perfect, but at least we’re more free and better off than all of those other countries. True, in the United States we have rights and freedoms that are not guaranteed other people in other nations.

But once again, are those freedoms and rights afforded to all people equally? We have a long way to go. Do these and endless other examples exhibit a level of freedom in this country worth bragging about?

With all of this talk of freedom in coming days, I suppose boasting about it is something worth thinking about too.

Omar Tesdell

is a junior in journalism and mass communication and technical communication from Slater. He is the online editor of the Daily.