Give Us Free

One of the most significant things I did during my time at home while I was on leave was get my first tattoo. Now, many have asked what the tattoo is, and then when told about it, what it signifies. I figured I'd write a little about my choice, and what it means to me.
If you went to high school during the past 10 years, I'm sure you've seen the movie Amistad during one of your history classes. No? Well, let me explain the story to you. Well, let me let Wikipedia help me explain it to you:
On July 2, 1839, Sengbe Pieh (later known in the United States as Joseph Cinqué) led 56 fellow Africans (52 adults and 4 children), the captives being transported aboard La Amistad from Havana, in a revolt against their captors. In the main hold below decks, the captives found a rusty file. The captives freed themselves, and they quickly ascended the stairs to deck. Armed with machete-like cane knives, they were successful in gaining control of the ship and demanded to be returned home. The ship's navigator, Don Pedro Montez, deceived them about which direction their course was on and sailed the ship north along the North American coast to the eastern tip of Long Island, New York. The United States Revenue Cutter Service discovered the schooner and took it and its occupants into custody. They took the Africans to Connecticut to be sold as slaves. A widely publicized court case ensued in New Haven, Connecticut, about the ship and the legal status of the African captives, which became a cause célèbre among abolitionists in the United States. At the time, the transport of slaves from Africa to the Americas was illegal, so the ship owners fraudulently described the Africans as having been born in Cuba. The court had to decide if the Africans were to be considered salvage and the property of naval officers who had taken custody of the ship, whether they were the property of the Cuban buyers or of Spain as Queen Isabella II of Spain claimed, or if the circumstances of their capture and transportation meant they were free. On appeal, The Amistad case reached the US Supreme Court, which in 1841 ruled in that the Africans had been illegally transported and held as slaves, and ordered them freed. The Amistad survivors returned to Africa in 1842.
History lesson over. The reason I remember this event in history is because Steven Spielberg directed a film that depicts it. During the court proceedings, tension in the courtroom rises, ultimately prompting Cinqué (the leader of the slaves) to leap from his seat and cry "Give us free" over and over, a heartfelt plea using the English he has learned.

From Drop Box

He just wanted to go home.
Now, I'm not a huge fan of the whole Amistad thing. I just think that it is interesting to consider America the Land of The Free, when our freedom was built on the shoulders of slaves. 'Give Us Free' is my way of saying I recognize this fact, and I will always remember the sacrifices that people all around the world give just so they can have a taste of something we as Americans take for granted. In Afghanistan, I see so many people live happy with so little. So much hardship and pain grips this country.

'Give Us Free' also speaks to the mental chains that weigh our spirits and our souls down. The truth is, we are not free. We are slaves to design and commercialism. We don't understand the language of the people running our lives enough to let them know that we've had enough. So, those that can speak up and yell as loud as they can and act and defend themselves with what they have.
Am I making sense? Cinqué didn't have to say 'Give Us Free' in real life to have what is over my heart mean any less. I just want to show the fact that I desire freedom for everyone, especially those who don't know how to ask for it.