Whilst driving around in Old Pasadena, I came across these painted words on utility cabinets. The words read: Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech, attributed to Benjamin Franklin, one of Founding Fathers of United States of America.

They seemed oddly out of place, given the state of affairs in the United States of America today. Over the past several decades, we have witnessed the erosion of our individual liberties. This rape of our liberties has progressed far more aggressively in recent years (especially since the events of eleventh day of September in the year two thousand and one): Freedom of travel, privacy and recently, a full-on assault on the 2nd amendment rights.

I was somewhat surprised to see the first of these as I was driving on Colorado Blvd. My first thought was it must be the work of some "rogue" liberty-minded individual, or a small group of such individuals, leading to the conclusion that it would be taken down, as soon as some liberal "do-gooder" calls it in to the city.

It is very sad that people either have never been introduced to the concepts of individual liberty or have completely forgotten them. The Bill of Rights, individual liberty, the basic rights each person has to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. These basic principles made up the core fabric of this great nation, and they used to mean something, other than mere words. Those not familiar with or have forgotten these "self-evident truths" should look into enrolling into a civil liberties course.

... I digress.

As I stopped to take a picture, I noticed that it was part of a public art project by a person named Susan Silton, titled "Utility"

This was such a refreshing display for me. I hope you enjoy it as well.

ALL ARTWORK COPYRIGHT WITH RESPECTIVE ARTIST. ALL PHOTOS COPYRIGHT©2013 Patrick Keshishian.