Babe, I just cannot fall asleep. I admit, I have been pulling out all your old letters and rereading them, sometimes falling asleep covered in your words. It makes me feel that you are really here and that I am not alone. I can imagine we are talking. Absurd, I know, since we have never actually talked and I do not know what your voice sounds like. I was reading the newspaper and found out that United States statesman, scientist, and author Benjamin Franklin attended the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and sought the abolition of slavery. He sought deliberately to set down the rules of conduct that would enable anyone, however humbly born, to prosper and live more meaningfully. The emphasis was unashamedly on the mundane virtues: thrift, hard work, diligence, prudence, moderation, honesty, and shrewdness. I am surprised to hear you refer to “boyish dreams of glory,” you who are always so careful to avoid labeling based on gender. Around here, I hear as many women as men wanting to become soldiers or law enforcement. Our grandfather fought near the end of the Civil War, and we grew up listening to his stories. That man could spin a tale! No one else could make war sound so unlike war. He enthralled even young Ava. Cheery thoughts certainly are needed. To enjoy freedom, we have to control ourselves, as freedom is the oxygen to the soul. Obedience leads to true freedom. #RandolphHarris 1 of 13

 The more we obey revealed truth, the more we become liberated. We have the power or ability to make personal choices without compulsion. In a spiritual sense, a person who repents and obeys God’s will is free from the bondage of sin through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The necessary conditions for the existence of freedom would be the absence of human coercion or restrain preventing one from choosing alternatives one would wish to choose; absence of natural conditions preventing one achieving a chosen objective; the possession of the means or the power to achieve the objective one chooses of one’s own volition. In today’s society, the difference between right and wrong is being obscured by loud, seductive voices calling for no restraints in human conduct. They advocate absolute freedom without regard to consequences. Unequivocally, that such behaviour is the high road to personal destruction. Let us also imagine an authoritarian society in which rulers have for years been so successful in controlling and manipulating what members of the community read and what views they encounter, and in which the educators have been able so subtly and skillfully to mold the minds and dispositions of the very young, that almost all citizens naturally desire what their rulers desire them to desire, without it ever occurring to them that there are alternatives to what they are accustomed to or that their freedom to choose has been in any way circumscribed. #RandolphHarris 2 of 13

These people are not conscious of any obstructions to the satisfaction of desire and, indeed, no obstructions to the satisfaction of desire and, indeed, no obstructions may exist to the satisfaction of desires they experience. This is a limiting case, but it points to conditions which exist more or less in all societies. We would scarcely concede that the members of such a society enjoyed any or much freedom. The society described may be one in which coercion in the usual sense does not occur and has in fact become unnecessary because the people are brainwashed by the media and certain political parities to stand for things they do not understand, without looking at the entire situation. People are being manipulated so they will not see the alternatives. Freedom means people must have the opportunity to understand the character or available alternatives and have to be able to make a deliberate or informed choice. We stand today as beneficiaries of pioneers—the Founding Fathers of this nation. We should pay tribute to their faithful deeds, their noble lives, and their lasting lessons of faith in God, courage, industry, self-reliance, and integrity. #RandolphHarris 3 of 13

Our heritage is based on the truth that righteousness brings forth the blessings of God. The Declaration of Independence to which these great people affixed their signatures is much more than a political document. It constitutes a spiritual manifesto—revelation, if you will—declaring not for this nation only, but for all nations, the source of human’s rights. “We were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations,” reports 1 Nephi 13.19. The Declaration of Independence was to set forth the moral justification of God’s given rights that all people have certain inalienable rights. In other words, these rights came from God. The people who laid the foundation of this American government and signed the Declaration of Independence were the best spirits the God of Heaven could find on the face of the Earth. They were choice spirits, not wicked people. General Washington and all the people who laboured for the purpose were inspired by the Lord. Yes, I thank God for the sacrifices and efforts made by these Founding Fathers and their wives and families, whose efforts have brought us the blessings of political liberty and economic prosperity we have today. Their lives should be the reminders that we are the blessed beneficiaries of a liberty earned by great sacrifices of property, reputation, and life. #RandolphHarris 4 of 13

What are the objections to thus connecting “being free to” with “having the capacity or the power to”? It can be said that, at least in many cases, equating freedom with possession of power will involve a distortion of ordinary language. If I ask, “Am I free to walk into the Pentagon?” the question will be clearly understood; but if I ask, “Am I free to walk across the Atlantic Ocean?” the appropriate answer will be “If you can, you are free to.” This suggests the main argument: The linking of “being free to” with “having the capacity or power” deprives the word “free” of its essential and unequivocal function, which is to refer to a situation or state of affairs in which a person’s choice of how one acts is not deliberately forced or restrained by another person. If we say to be free to achieve chosen ends requires the possession of the power and the social means necessary for their achievement, the problem of freedom coincides with (or becomes confused with) the quite different problem of how satisfactions are to be maximized. It may be true to say that less affluent people are free to spend their holidays in Monte Carlo as the rich people are, and true also to say that one cannot afford to do so. These two statements, it is argued, refer to two distinct states of affairs, and noting is gained by amalgamating them. #RandolphHarris 5 of 13

The freedom that members of society enjoy will be connected, therefore, with the extent to which competing opinions, objectives, modes of behaviour, ways of living, and so on are, so to speak, on display; on how freely they can be recommended, criticized and examined; and thus on the ease with which people can make a deliberate choice between them. For this reason, since literacy or education enlarges the capacity or faculty of choice and decision, it is an important precondition of the existence of freedom: knowledge extends the capacity for acting freely. Similarly, not only suppression but also distortion and misrepresentation, any kind of dishonest propaganda which gains its effect from privileged control over sources of publicity, may restrict the freedom of others; insofar as it succeeds in concealing or misrepresenting the character of certain of the available alternatives, it will tend to limit the exercise of freedom in a particular society. It is not sufficient to consider only the presence or absence of coercion in the more literal and direct sense. Freedom in its positive aspect is the activity or process of choosing for oneself and acting on one’s own initiative, and choice can be manipulated. #RandolphHarris 6 of 13

Our forebears covenanted their lives—and not a few gave them! They gave their fortunes—and many, if not most, lost their lands, homes, and businesses. They gave their sacred honour—this by the covenant to God! They believed themselves to be God-directed and prophet-led. Their conviction inspired their sacrifices. They came—with indomitable faith and courage, following incredible suffering and adversity. They came with stamina, with inspired confidence for better days, and they all pledged allegiance to flag of the United State of America! Today we live in a choice land, yes, a land choice above all other lands. We live amid unbounded prosperity—this is because of the heritage bequeathed to us by our forebears, a heritage of self-reliance, initiative, personal industry, and faith in God, all in an atmosphere of freedom. Therefore, they would want us to have faith in God. It was by this faith that they were sustained in their privations, sacrifices, and sufferings. They placed their trust in God. He was their defense, their refuge, and their salvation. The success, which has hitherto attended our untied efforts we owe to the gracious interposition of Heaven. And to that interposition let us gratefully ascribe the praise of victory, and the blessings of peace. Yes, it was this faith in God which sustained them in their hours of extremity. We, too, need this same faith in the critical days ahead. #RandolphHarris 7 of 13

We also need to strengthen our homes and family bonds. Our ancestors left their posterity and legacy of something more enduring—a hearthside where parents were close by their children, where daily devotions, family prayer, scripture reading, and the singing of spiritual songs was common place. Families worked, worshipped, played, and prayed together. Family home evening, now a once-a-week practice among the Saints, was to our forebears almost a nightly occurrence. Can we not see in their examples the solutions to problems threatening families today? Were we to pattern our homes accordingly, divorce would be largely eliminated, children would be welcomed and guided, and love between parents and children would abound. There would be no generation gap. Family unity and solidarity, crowned with love and happiness, would prevail. They would also counsel us on the dignity of work, to practice being economical, and to be self-sustaining. Theirs was a philosophy that neither the World nor the government owes a person anything. People are commanded of God to live by their own labours. “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody,” reports 1 Thessalonians 4.11. #RandolphHarris 8 of 13

Babe, without your encouragement, I never would have written the stories down. Perhaps we all need to read about flowers, clouds, and Summer days  in these times. There are two lights in my memory, which are your eyes with deep love. Your eyes seem to speak to me, night of missing will go by, please greet the dawn when we will meet. I am back at school now after the holiday. I have been bringing in newspapers for my students to read. I have found them to be woefully uninformed about what is going on in Europe. Donald Tusk is the current President of the European Council and Europe’s attention has been trained on three issues that pose a clear and imminent threat: Brexit, migration, and rising nationalism, which in countries like Poland is fuelling growing resistance to the European Union and the rule of law. Following a five-year period of unprecedented political fragmentation in the European Union, the outlook for the functionality of the European Parliament, Commission, and Council appears grim. The Parliament has been fighting for more power and authority, which they have finally gained, but following the next European Union election in June 2019, its newfound power may be lost because 41 new parties already won seats in 2014, and this election is almost certain to leave things more fragmented. #RandolphHarris 9 of 13

The same fragmentation is also set to weaken the European Commission, with commissioners from at least four countries—the Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, and Poland—set to be appointed within a year by Euroskeptic governing parties. Speculation about who will succeed commission president Jean-Claude Junker has already begun, but the answer will probably not make much of a difference. After all, since the global financial crisis erupted in 2008, it has become starkly apparent that the real power in the European Union lies not in the transnational precincts of the commission, but in the intergovernmental corridors of the European Council. When it comes to the council, the outlook is also bleak. The national leaders who oversee it lack the vision, commitment, or strength to set the direction for the European project. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Europe’s leading power for the last ten years have been weakened. French president Emmanuel Macron has lost momentum. The United Kingdom is on its way out. Italy, Poland, and Hungary are openly skeptical of Europe. Spain has an unelected minority government, and the Netherlands is paralysed by right-wing opposition. Basically, none of the European Union’s institutions seems to be in a position to respond to the serious challenges they face. #RandolphHarris 10 of 13

This brings us to one of the most recent additions to the European Union structure, created by the Treaty of Lisbon: the European Council president. The importance of the European Council president is often overlooked. However, as the first holder of the position, Herman Van Rompuy, demonstrated when he held the post, it can be integral to progress. During the euro crisis, Van Rompuy, working largely behind the scenes marshaled support for badly needed measures among the member states and the three cornerstone European Union institutions. Not everyone can carry the weight of the position. An effective European Council president must have a temperament that enables him or her to move a diverse group of powerful people toward mutually beneficial outcomes, all without taking the spotlight. Van Rompuy’s high-profile successor, Donald Tusk, is a good example. The right European Council president can act as a rudder for the entire European project. However, the wrong one will leave the European Union directionless at a moment when untied action is urgently needed. Preventing that outcome should be a top priority for Europe’s leaders. #RandolphHarris 11 of 13

If the Falklands lose European Union funding for conservation, 1 million penguins will be put at risk, due to Brexit. Threats to the penguins in the region include fishing, tourism, unlicensed egg collecting and invasive, exotic diseases like avian pox because of the low resistance among the isolated population. Also, some African settlers on a British island are in danger of losing funding for education, medical, and housing and they do not know what will be done to help them. There are genuine concerns that replacement United Kingdom funding would not be enough, and there is no way to tell how they would allocate that new funding. The goal is to recover threatened, iconic or economically important species and prevent human-induced extinction or loss of known threatened species in our overseas territories. Duchess Meghan Markle’s smile and pleasant attitude helps calms people’s fears. And at least my students now know the Balkans are not somewhere near Sweden. All I catch Meghan reading these days are fashion magazines and guest lists, as if she is planning for another wedding. Maybe she really wanted to attend New York’s Fashion Week and was daydreaming. “If righteous hold out faith to end, they are received into Heaven,” Mosiah 2.41. It is like a dance with candles on the ceiling. We can make believe we are on another planet. If we could go on like this and love could spread like the ocean mist and we could be flying. #RandolphHarris 12 of 13

In certain circumstances the extent of the range of available alternative may be relevant to a judgment of the extent of freedom; but in general we can talk profitably about both the existence and the extent of freedom in a particular society only by taking into account the individual and social interests, the capacities, the modes of behaviour, and the ways of living on behave of which freedom is claimed. In a political and social discussion a claim to freedom is almost invariably (albeit usually implicitly) a claim to a particular liberty, a claim to freedom for or in the exercise of some particular interest or form of activity. Although we think of freedom as the absence of obstacles to the satisfaction of desire, probably no serious philosophical or social thinker has defended freedom in the sense of absence of obstacles to the satisfaction of any desire; what has been defended, and what freedom has been identified with, is the absence of obstacles to the exercise and satisfaction of specific interests and forms of activity which are accepted as possessing especial moral and social significance. Thus, freedom in the abstract is a class comprising many species–freedom of thought and speech, freedom of association, freedom of assembly, freedom of worship, freedom of movement, freedom in the use or disposal of one’s property, freedom in the choice of one’s employer or occupation, and so on. “Salvation is freedom,” reports 2 Nephi 2.4. #RandolphHarris 13 of 13