Freedom. Freedom of religion. Freedom to speak their mind.

Hear, O child of tomorrow, the words of Mitt Romney, spoken with the weight of history and the longing of a people: “Freedom. Freedom of religion. Freedom to speak their mind. Freedom to build a life. And yes, freedom to build a business. With their own hands. This is the essence of the American experience.” These words echo like a clarion, not only to those who dwell in the land of America, but to all who hunger for liberty. For in them is gathered the dream of countless generations who left behind chains and sought a place where the soul could breathe, the mind could speak, and the hand could labor for its own reward.

Consider the first gift: freedom of religion. This was the seed from which America first sprouted, when pilgrims crossed the vast ocean, fleeing the heavy hand of kings and priests who sought to dictate the shape of their prayers. They longed for a land where the voice of the soul was free to rise to heaven without fear. From this longing came a principle greater than any throne—that no power on earth should bind the conscience of man. This freedom, though imperfect in its birth, became a cornerstone of the American spirit.

Next comes the fire of freedom to speak their mind. Words are the wings of thought, and where words are chained, the human spirit withers. The founders of the republic, remembering the tyranny of silenced voices, carved this right into their constitution, declaring that truth must battle in the open, that no man should be punished for his honest speech. And though this freedom has been tested, though wars and conflicts have sought to suppress it, still it stands: the right to cry out against injustice, the right to dream aloud, the right to sing the truth even when the world covers its ears.

But freedom is not only in prayer or speech. It is also in the humble labor of hands, in the power to build a life. The immigrant who arrives with nothing, the farmer who tills rough soil, the craftsman who shapes wood into beauty—all partake in this promise. The nation was not forged by kings in palaces but by ordinary men and women who sought only the chance to create a life for themselves, guided not by the dictates of rulers but by their own courage and toil.

So too, Romney reminds us, is there the freedom to build a business. This too is part of the American tale: that a man or woman may take an idea, a skill, a dream, and shape it into something that serves others and sustains their family. This is not merely commerce, but creation—a form of building, of participating in the great work of society. The story of Henry Ford, who began with simple machines and transformed the world of travel, is one such tale. His work was not perfect, but it embodied the spirit of hands shaping destiny.

Yet let us not be naïve: these freedoms have never been complete, nor equally shared. The enslaved, the oppressed, the silenced—many were denied the very essence of this promise. The march of history has been the struggle to extend these freedoms to all: to women, to the poor, to those whose voices were long ignored. Thus the essence of the American experience is not only freedom itself, but the striving to make that freedom real for every soul.

What then is the lesson for us? It is this: do not take your freedom for granted, and do not hoard it for yourself. Live it fully—in your worship, in your words, in your work. But also defend it for others, especially for those whose voices are weaker, whose hands are bound, whose opportunities are few. For freedom is not a treasure to be kept in vaults, but a fire to be shared, a light to guide generations yet unborn.

Therefore, O seeker, cherish this truth: freedom is the essence of the American experience, but beyond that, it is the essence of human dignity. Let your life be a testimony to it. Pray as your soul desires, speak with honesty, labor with your hands, and build with your heart. But above all, guard the freedom of your neighbor, for only then will your own remain secure. In this lies the strength not only of a nation, but of humanity itself.