Freedom

Pakistani opposition leader and human rights advocate, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated today in a suicide attack after she spoke at a political peace rally. In 1988, Bhutto became the first female prime minister of a modernized Muslim nation. Shortly after her induction, she was booted out by militant force---only to win future elections and succumb to militant dismissal again.

Since then, Bhutto has been the subject of a political smear campaign, with shady and unfounded allegations of corruption. Previous to today's occurence, Bhutto survived other assassination attempts, one of them just this past October. Suffice to say, this woman was not very well liked by old-school Pakistanis.

In 2002, I was privileged to sit a mere 20 feet from this remarkable woman at an MTSU speaker's session and listen to her passionate pleas for unity and progression in her chaotic country. Her death reminds me of how thankful I am to live in a country of political and religious freedom. Sure, the good ol' US-of-A is seriously dysfunctional, but I don't fear for my life when I tell people whom I vote for or the God I worship. I am so appreciative of my civil liberties.