The Clown of Freedom

From 1960 to 1983, there was a Catholic television program called Insight created by a Paulist priest and aired on Saturday and/or Sunday mornings.

A series of short teleplays on various themes of faith, I was far too young to understand most of the content. Even so, familiar actors and actresses from popular television and films appeared – Ed Asner, Ron Howard, Eve Plumb, Cicily Tyson, Bill Bixby, John Ritter, Louis Gossett, Jr., you name it.

There was an episode, with Martin Sheen (he filmed several), that I will never forget.

It took years for me to find it again (thank you, YouTube). 

The Clown of Freedom was set in an unnamed, Latin American country during a regime change.

Sheen played a street performer, Bobo (nee Ramon), the de facto leader of a troupe of mimes and clowns, arrested with other civilians by the government du jour.

Ramon keeps his humor in spite of abuse from prison guards and continues to sing of freedom even after witnessing civilians murdered by firing squad in the yard of the prison.

His friends deny him.

He is brought before “His Excellency”, a former university friend, Emelio, and now leader of the present government.  Emelio tries to bribe Ramon with food and wine and the offer of reinstatement in the National Theatre in exchange for his submission to the regime.

The Clown of Freedom cannot be bought.

The parallel to Christ was not lost on me even then.  Catholic children, at the time, were still being subjected to all sorts of age inappropriate, violent content about the life of Jesus and the Saints and Martyrs.

As an adult, having lived through the fall of Communism (or so we thought) and observing several "regime changes" throughout the world only to watch the masses be beaten into submission in more subtle, insidious ways, the episode hit even harder.

In 1974, when The Clown of Freedom first aired, there was a hint from the Pink Paulist's that Leftist oppression is better than that coming from the Right, but I would like to think some of us have revised that way of thinking.

Jesus, contrary to popular belief among more liberal Christians, was NOT a Socialist.

He may have been a couch surfing hippie who gave up a comfortable middle-class life as a carpenter to be an itinerant preacher, but He was also a Man of action who fashioned a whip, flipped tables, and drove the money lenders out of the Temple.

Although He healed the sick and fed the multitudes, He also instructed His disciples to go out and heal the sick and teach men to fish.

He defied the establishment and spoke Words that were controversial.  His friends denied Him and He went ahead and suffered and died for us all anyway.

I will not tell you how The Clown of Freedom ends.  I think you can guess.

Just a few days ago, a young man, husband, and father was assassinated in front of his family and a few thousand college kids simply for being a Christian and for practicing his faith and engaging in conversations with those who disagree with him. 

Sadly, many who profess to care about human rights and freedom of expression publicly celebrated his murder with glee. They beclowned themselves, not in a good way, all over TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X.

Personally, I was not surprised by their statements.  How can we expect those who willingly collaborated in unspeakable evils over the last five years to value human life?

However, I am encouraged that good men and women cried out against the foot soldiers of “His Excellency” (I think we all know by now who that is) and will, at last, stand up against tyranny, oppression, and terror.

In the words of Bobo/Ramon, “As long as you can laugh at life, keep love in your heart, and freedom in your soul, you, too, can be a clown”.

Photo Credit: YouTube Screenshot 9.14.25