May 2026
The Applied Sociology Club in conjunction with the library sponsored the contest “What Does Freedom Mean to You?” and the winner was William Breslawski. He wrote a poem entitled “A Dollar of Freedom.” The contest was held as part of the 1776: The Big Bang of Modern Democracy exhibit from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History that was on display in the library February 3 – 27.
A Dollar of Freedom
by William Breslawski
I don’t know what freedom is
I did once, but then I lost it
Maybe freedom is the wind
Unstoppable, inherent to life itself
Or perhaps freedom is a toy a parent gifts to us
Something that can be taken if we lose the privilege
What if freedom is money?
Something most need to earn, but few are lucky enough to gain in large quantities
And the more you have, the more you can take from others
The more unstoppable you are
Some people sit on a throne of freedom
Some blow their nose and wipe their ass with freedom
While others beg on the streets for some spare freedom
But the thing about money is, it’s just paper
It’s not real, or, it’s only real because we decided it’s real and has value
So is freedom real?
Or did we only decide that it’s real so that some can have more than others?

