I believe President Joe Biden is a terrible president who is making the country worse. I believe the Left and its cultural totalitarianism threaten to undermine the values that made this country so great. But sometimes, it’s nice to be reminded that I have the freedom to say those things. Millions of other people around the world aren’t so lucky.
In an article for the Atlantic, NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom, who became a U.S. citizen last month, recalled what it was like growing up in Turkey, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regularly jails and punishes anyone who criticizes him. Freedom, himself, was one of Erdogan’s targets:
He forced my parents to publicly disown me. The words in a handwritten note from my dad in 2016 cut me to my core: “With a feeling of shame, I apologize to our president and the Turkish people for having such a son.” My siblings were blocked from employment. My dad was fired, later jailed, and then ultimately released in 2020. But he emerged from his cell a completely different person, unable to speak about his experiences. I have not seen or spoken with my parents since 2015. Any contact with me could have them arrested.Even after he left Turkey to play professional basketball, Erdogan was still trying to silence Freedom:
In 2017, on a basketball trip to Indonesia, I received a tip to leave the country immediately, to avoid a suspected kidnapping attempt by Turkish agents. On the next leg of our trip, in Europe, I was informed by border control that Turkey had revoked my citizenship. I would later learn that the regime had also issued an international arrest warrant against me.So, he came to the U.S., which he said has “given me all the opportunities in the world.” It gave him a family, a career, and, most importantly, a voice.
I listened to victims and stood in solidarity with the oppressed. I marched for Black lives. I prayed with Tibetan Buddhists. I stood by democracy activists from Hong Kong and Taiwan. I heard from Uyghurs who had lost relatives or survived the torture of China’s concentration camps. I fought against all forms of hate. I took to the streets. I took to the podium. I raised awareness. I used my platform.Freedom’s story is an important reminder that we, as Americans, still enjoy unmatched liberty and prosperity compared to the rest of the world. Does that mean we should sit back and shut up in perfect contentment? No — there’s still work to be done. But we also shouldn’t take for granted what this country has given us: equal rights, a system of due process, the opportunity to make our lives better. Those are, after all, the things that make this country worth fighting for.
