Welcome to Issue 4

What is freedom? On the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere when the world seems open with life and warmth and possibility, I'm proud to introduce a strong crop of contributions addressing this question.

In the issue's flagship essay, "The freedom to become free," Ripon College's Cody Pinkston and David Joyce team up to present a marvelous work of rhetoric—a sort of invisible conversation on the many facets of freedom that eventually hones in on their target: learning leads to freedom and combats fear. Ebbing in one paragraph from wisdom gleaned from lyrics of the band Rush to a maxim of ancient historian Thucydides in the next, Pinkston and Joyce walk their talk, wandering peripatetically in words designed to open rather than close the conversation. They do offer a challenge (or warning) to all, however, regardless of one's political leanings, society, or lifestyle—"many who perceive themselves as free are not, while others who covet freedom already have it." To ground-truth whether we are living lives of freedom or shackled by some unconfronted fear, they urge at once the exercise of curiosity and responsibility. These are neither revolutionary nor new ideas, but given our tremendous psychological capacity for forgetting what's good for us and acting shortsightedly, it's useful to reflect along these lines.

James Mlaker reminds us of two examples of such forgetting—or voluntary ceding—of human liberties on societal scales. The Milwaukee digital artist is usually creating artworks that challenge viewers' perceptions, but in his "An alternative perspective of freedom in America" he has crafted an essay reminding us that we often are blind to the constraints we ourselves erect about our own freedoms. He posits a "freedom scale" along which societies shift between anarchy and totalitarianism over time with regard to constituent liberty. He compares the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II to the Patriot Act passed in wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks—both instances in which he argues America slid toward the totalitarian side of the scale.

If you are looking for a laugh but like protein and starch with your sugar, then click early and often on writer Ryan Kresse's delightful "Notes from the beyond." It is the year 2115 and one of the scattered survivors of various catastrophes on planet Earth writes home to 2009, describing how in just about one century "perfect freedom" has been attained. In this future, neither totalitarianism nor anarchy threaten that freedom, but is such a world of harmony, mutual deference, and simplicity worth living in for humans? Perhaps for their bees... Kresse has already left his mark on various projects at Discovery World, including the live show Tesla Lives!, about underappreciated but farsighted Serbian American inventor Nikola Tesla. Although it's not written in his tell-all from the future, I predict we haven't heard the last of or from Kresse in Milwaukee just yet.

Then on to my contribution. With the exception of my first essay, "Fascinating! (Life is)" last June, I've had difficulty focusing on how best to articulate something meaningful about the broad topics for each quarter (even though I'm supposedly in charge). I had no less difficulty focusing this time around, but my discussion and my exploration of this topic led me to some unexpected territory. In "Free agency, hypnotic surrender, and the final frontier," I first confess my childhood fear while watching Star Trek V, in which characters are brainwashed. Unpacking my observations as an adult about why this frightened me as a child led me to an exploration of what seduction is, what it does, how it works, and what our responses to it are and should be. This discussion threads through literature from the New Testament and the Odyssey, but also touches on the power of hypnotic suggestion and how we "derail" our willpower to varying degrees all by ourselves every day. I also consider the tragic case of a minor league baseball player traded for $665 worth of bats who recently overdosed on drugs.

This issue completes the first volume of this online magazine. I feel fortunate to have published 12 unique essays over the past year and I thank all of you who read or contribute. Please let me know you support this publication and consider leaving comments after the essays to broaden the discussion beyond these pages. If you like this magazine as a forum for discussion, please let others know about it via email, the internet, and word-of-mouth.

The next four quarterly issues planned will continue to address broad themes: Nature (June 21, 2009), Culture (Sept. 22, 2009), Purpose (Dec. 21, 2009), God (March 20, 2010).

I invite your essay contributions addressing some specific aspect of any of these themes. The deadline for unsolicited submissions on each topic is the 1st of the month in which the issue is planned.

Forget 2115. Next year is 2010. The future is now.

Michael Timm
March 20, 2009