A few days ago I saw a post about how "Freedom Means Putting up with a lot of things," -- I saw it on Kos (I think). Does anyone remember where to find it? The author, a lady I think, said in essence, 'Freedom isn't free. It actually means we have to put up with a number of low-level bothers because the way some others enjoy their freedom is likely to bother almost all of us. We have to put up with gays getting married, Rush Limbaugh sounding off, unwed mothers, Ann Coulter, God-squad folks and bible thumpers...' It was an excellent comment, and it got me thinking of lots of other things I should think of that way, including some things that have gone away.
There's more -- about the hitching post:
I remember when I was a child in the 1950's, lots of people had 'hitching posts' out by the curb in their front yards -- faux antiques that pretended to have been there since horse and buggy days. Some had something useful, like the house number, nice and close to the street and easy to find. Some had a horse head at the top. But some had the figure of a boy, with a bright red jacket like a horse's groom, and a very black face. I remember asking my (liberal) mother what they were for, when I was maybe six years old. She said something about them being old-fashioned hitching posts, and the black boy (his features were rather juvenile; you wouldn't 'read' the figure as a man) was figuratively there to hold your horse for you. I think I picked up that my mother found the subject distasteful, but only now, 50 years later, does it occur to me why. I bet she was 'putting up with' a bit of racism that bothered her.
I haven't seen any of those things for a good 40 years. More recent lawn decorations may be offensive to flamingoes or gnomes, but I think that's progress.
Anyway, does anyone remember the original post? Please help me find it.