I grew up in International Falls, on the edge of the Boundary Waters. People up there actually have a fair bit of contact with aliens. The Arnam live and breath underwater, but salt water is just as deadly to them as it is to us. So they settled in the Great Lakes and Boundary Waters after Contact, and all of us locals got real used to seeing them swimming around under the surface. I’ve even visited some of their lakebed cities. That was real fun.
I was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, United States of America, Earth. Yes, that makes me a not-so-puny Earthling, if you count place of birth, not race. I spent the first three months of my life in Earthspace. That is a very long time for a cyber. I got to know the people. When I flew to Alpha Centauri, I found that on the one hand, people are people wherever they go. On the other, it was full of strange new people. Every world is like that if you think about it.
Many people talk about freedom. The freedom to live where they want to, to say what they want to, to do what they want to do. Very few people speak out though. Of those, very few are willing to stand in public. Of those, even fewer will stand and fight for freedom. Those very, very few are the ones who built America six centuries ago. Sometimes when their legacy is threatened we have faltered. Sometimes we have risen. I am proud every time I see the latter.
The government works for you. Never allow it to take your freedom of speech, or your ability to defend it. And always use your freedom of speech to let everyone know that you won’t allow it.
There is a holiday in America that celebrates the legacy of a Christian minister who taught everyone that there was a better way to live. He used the media of the time to show everyone that all races should have the same freedoms of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He led peaceful marches and protests and changed America. I ask everyone to celebrate the legacy of Rev Martin Luther King, not just today, but every day of your lives.