Not a day goes by when I don't for at least for a moment give thanks to all the people who suffered, sacrificed, and died, so that I can have the freedoms and opportunities I have now. Not the least of which is the chance to live on the other side of the world.
While the struggles and sacrifices that many Taiwanese made didn't affect me directly, I also appreciate what they did to make Taiwan the place it is today. Just the other day a friend was reading an American comic book on an ipad. She was enjoying it quite a lot, and seeing how happy it made her, I couldn't help but think how fortunate she was that so many Taiwanese gave so much so that she could read an English book. Something that not even twenty-five years ago would have been illegal.
The picture above is from a recent trip I took back to the 228 museum which documents some of the struggles that Taiwanese had to go through to get freedom. The photo is of wall they have which top to bottom, wall to wall, is covered with these little squares. Each square is a name (and some with a picture) of somebody who disappeared during their struggle against the government.
Being in front of this wall I can't help but feel humbled and a profound sense of gratitude towards them. Their actions allowed the people in Taiwan that I care about to be able to have the simple everyday freedoms that most of us take for granted.
