Freedom Tower Will Highlight The New York Skyline

Construction has begun on the Freedom Tower in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The Freedom Tower will be built to attain a height of 1776 feet and would be the tallest building in the world if it was completed today. The Tower is the centerpiece of the new World Trade Center complex and is scheduled for completion in the year 2010.

The tower will have a cubic base that is designed for safety from car or truck bombs. The base will be covered in thirteen foot tall glass prisms that will refract light into color. This will make the cubic base more interesting to the naked eye. The concern for safety also is incorporated into the vertical core which will run through the center of the building. The core will contain many of the structure's essential safety systems. It will have 3 foot thick walls made from extra-strong concrete. The core will also contain emergency communication cables, exhaust and ventilation shafts, water pipes, and stairs and lifts to enter or exit the building. Overall, the unique architectural design of the Freedom Tower will make it look like it twists as it get higher.

The new Freedom Tower will honor the Twin Towers in several ways. The base of the Freedom Tower will be two hundred feet square. Two hundred square feet was the exact dimension of the original towers. The observation deck will be at 1,362 feet, the height of World Trade Center Tower Two. The glass parapet will be at 1,368 feet, the height of World Trade Center Tower One. A spire will emit an intense beam of light at night that will be visible over a thousand feet into the air above the tower. The light will represent a beacon of freedom in the night sky over New York City.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on Freedom

Hillary Clinton recently gave a speech on freedom during her current tour through Europe. She was lamenting the fact that in many countries, the opportunity to live in a free society was being shut down by oppressive governments such as Zimbabwe, the Congo, Ethiopia, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, China, and Russia. According to a July 3, 2010 Associated Press article, her speech included the following concepts and quotes:

In some countries, "the walls are closing in" on unions, religious groups, and other non government organizations that press for social changes and shine a light on governments' shortcomings.

She states that "democracies don't fear their own people. They recognize that citizens must be free to come together, to advocate, and agitate."

She felt that some governments are "slowly crushing civil society and the human spirit."

In a related statement, President Obama declared that he is concerned about "the spread of restrictions on civil society, the growing use of laws to curb rather than enhance freedom and widespread corruption that is undermining the faith of citizens in their governments."

However, before we start criticizing how other countries deal with the concepts of freedom and liberty, maybe Obama, Clinton, and the rest of the American political class should consider how these very concepts are in conflict with what is happening to freedom in America today.

From Restriction to Freedom

I have really had freedom on my mind a lot lately, so I want to ask you: How free do you feel in your life right now? Do you feel a sense of freedom as you look around at your life or do you feel restricted? Do you feel free to be yourself? Do you feel free to live life "your way"?

Looking back, in the past I experienced way more restriction than freedom. This showed up in how I approached new experiences, how I expressed myself and it especially showed up in my career as I had suppressed my true desire of doing the work I love by choosing an "acceptable" career.

The thing is, when you have patterns around restriction, it tends to show up in many different areas of your life. Take a moment to ask yourself, what situations in your life do you feel restricted in? In what ways do you hold your true self and desires back? Even noticing that there is restriction there in the first place is a great start towards creating freedom.

In spite of all of this self-restriction I experienced along my journey, I always felt a deep and strong desire to be free. The one thing that I loved about University as I pursued my previous Engineering Career was that you were free in a lot of ways. You created your schedule, you chose if you showed up or not. Of course I did, but I didn't have to, I chose to.

And the one thing I had the hardest time with in regular jobs were that you had to show up at a certain time and leave at a certain time. Maybe it's not a big deal to everyone but it always bugged me. What if I wanted to stay up and watch my favorite show? What if I wanted to sleep in? Too bad, no freedom here.

Now I look around at my life and I am so pleased to see that I have created my life to be based in freedom. This was always one of my most important values. I love that I can go to sleep when I want, I love that I can wake up when my body just wakes up. I love that I make my schedule. I love that my work is a true, authentic, free expression of who I really am. I love to experience this true freedom every single day.