#Monomad Challenge - And what is freedom?

Good evening, #Monomad friends

Here is my entry for the #monomad contest by @brumest and @monochromes.

Last February, I had a few days off that I was enjoying, but I hadn’t planned a thing. I hadn’t booked a trip, I hadn’t planned anything important… I only knew one thing: I would have the day all to myself.

And what is freedom?

This question is more important than ever today. It has been 52 years today since Portugal marked the transition to a democratic government. A democracy that brought more rights, more freedoms, and also more responsibilities.

And I think that these days, many of us Portuguese have left the responsibility of safeguarding our freedoms somewhat to chance.

We take them for granted, as a given. We know that, like everything else, if we don’t look after something, it gradually loses its importance, and we don’t even realize it.

On that day, even though it was a day in February, I truly felt like a free man. A citizen with no obligations beyond the ordinary ones, and who, in a way, had the decision of what to do in my own hands, so to speak.

On that day, I ended up celebrating April 25th in my own way. I caught the train very early in the morning bound for Coimbra. I decided to revisit the city. I vaguely remembered going there as a child with my parents—running along the sidewalks of the avenues and playing under the arches of the University.

On this day, I felt closer than anyone should ever feel. I felt present, and in control of my own time.

Today, more than ever, we cannot allow an event that took place 52 years ago to become trivial. We must remain vigilant against the insidious maneuvers of the dictatorship, which disguises itself as something positive. It tells us it will bring order, when in fact it will bring restrictions and barriers. It tells us it will bring justice, when punishment is sought without even a presumption of innocence on the part of the accused.

Let the April carnations bloom, and let us never stop watering them.