Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes

This is my 50th blog. I feel like I should write something memorable, different, special.

So... um. Buses? Sex? Philosophy? A disturbing amalgamation of the three?!

I found a website called 'The Good Wife's Guide'. It is an article from 1955 about how to be a good wife.

Some little beauties from it include:

'Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.'

'Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.'

'Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.'

This is only from 1955, which is really not so long ago. It really makes me grateful to be alive now, when I'm free to question people's opinions and be respected for my own. But there are so many reasons to be grateful for the time, and place in which we live, that people seem to mock on a regular basis.

I heard a comment made by a teenager recently, they said 'our right to strike is one of the few freedoms we have left'. Now I have a few issues with the kind of ignorance shown by a statement like this. Think back to the days when women chained themselves to railings and were force fed, in a campaign for the right to vote. When people were enslaved and lynched purely based on their race. When people had no right education or health care if they couldn't afford it. When women had no right to free speech because their husband could not be questioned.

Now look at your own life.

I'm by no means claiming the world is perfect. I'm by no means saying that we shouldn't continue to work towards change in things that seem less that fair and equal. However, I do think we should have a little perspective on how we live now and what we take for granted, that actually England has one of the best health care and education systems in the world, there is more liberty here in comparison with far too many countries. So all I ask, is maybe a little less cynicism, or maybe a little more justification.