The Freedom Center is a symbol of how everyone should be free. Free to choose where they want to live. Free to live the life they pursue. Free to not be kicked out of their homes. Free to the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Where is the happiness in OTR? In the boutique shops that are owned by those who are apart of gentrification or how about in Washington Park where the voice of the people was not heard.
Freedom is a complicated thing. With freedom comes great responsibility. We have the choice, with freedom, to live our lives as we please. That is what we are told at least. Freedom is something we are told to cherish and cling to. What about those without freedom? What do they have to cling to? What do the residents of Over the Rhine have to cling to when their neighborhood is being taken over?
Many Over the Rhine Residents are deprived of these freedoms. With such an iconic center in Cincinnati that embodies these ideals why are the residents of the neighborhood deprived of these basic freedoms? Freedom should include the choice of where you want to live, not someone taking over your home. Freedom is having some say in the development of your neighborhood. Not being pushed aside and ignored.
In a country founded on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, where are these rights for the resident’s of Over the Rhine? Doesn’t everyone deserve these parts of freedom as well? A home. Food. Adequate space. Where is that? Where is their freedom? Their freedom is lost in translation of a “new” neighborhood that is victim of gentrification. Or succumbing to 3CDC and a gauntlet of boutique shops. Over the Rhine served as a haven, now it is slowly becoming anything but. So what is freedom?
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