Monday, November 12, 2012

freedom isn't free

Each flag has a name tag in honor of a man or woman who gave their lives serving our nation in Iraq or Afghanistan since September 11, 2001. Created by a local Scout troop and various volunteers from our area.

Happy Veterans Day!

After the past week of reeling from the election results (everything I felt is perfectly stated here by someone I have never met and I know very little about other than what is on her blog), it is my hope that we do not lose what our countless men and women have fought for since our country was founded. The first and foremost being "freedom".

Freedom of speech. All speech. Not just that which is "politically correct". Not just what the media chooses to frame for us -- often out of context and often not the whole truth.

Freedom of religion. All religions. All beliefs -- not just those that change with popular culture. (I include this not just because I happen to be religious, but because freedom of religion was one of the main reasons people first immigrated to this country...and, in many cases, continues to be a reason immigrants want to come. And, as we all know, immigrants are the heart and soul of our country! As long as they are legal and not a drag on our system....)

Freedom to be successful and make all the money we want so that we can, through our success, help others to be successful by teaching them, helping them and guiding them. The wealthy "1%" are the people who keep our education costs down by paying full tuitions, who donate to museums, who create jobs, who start businesses, who help FUND businesses so that they can grow, who pay MOST of the taxes that pay for the growing number of entitlements....

Freedom to be any color, any race, any nationality, any sexual orientation, any religion and be and do great things -- no matter WHAT our background, not BECAUSE of our background. This is, in a nutshell, what makes our country "exceptional".

Thank you veterans for your service and dedication to the importance of these freedoms, and so many more, which we Americans hold to be true and good. Freedoms inspired by our Founding Fathers and written into our country's "Charters of Freedom" (Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights). My greatest hope is that your service and dedication won't be for naught. We, the ones who are not fighting on the battlefields but in the daily battles of political correctness and media-driven morals and values, must honor our veterans by not giving up or giving in, but fighting harder to preserve the things we know are right.