“Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof” (Leviticus 25:10; it is this verse that is inscribed on the Liberty Bell).

I love the movie Braveheart.  When it was first released in 1995, my wife, Sue, and I went to see it in the theater.  Afterward, people asked me what I thought.  My standard reply was, “Well, except for the nudity, profanity, and gory violence—it was a great movie.”  And it is.  I do still wince at some scenes.  There are some parts of the movie that I wish were not there.  But all in all, I do love that film.  One reason is that it is about William Wallace, a Scottish national hero.  Being of Scottish descent, I love all things Scottish.  (My maternal grandmother was a Crawford; on my father’s side, there are Baileys and Fraziers—all transplants from the sod of Alba.)  But there is another reason.  The film portrays a man committed to seeing his people live in freedom, completely delivered from tyranny and oppression.  The movie ends (spoiler alert) with Wallace being drawn and quartered for his fight against the English.  As he dies, he cries out one resounding word—“FREEDOM!”  This is a powerful climax to a moving film.