The Inheritance of Freedom

Are they dead that yet speak louder than we can speak, and a more universal language?  Are they dead that yet act?  Are they dead that yet move upon society and inspire the people with nobler motives and more heroic patriotism?  — Henry Ward Beecher

    
          On this Memorial Day weekend, I take the opportunity to pause and reflect on the supreme sacrifices of those men and women who have given their lives so that we may be free.  From the brave warriors who fought in the Revolutionary War to gain our independence and freedom to those U.S. forces currently fighting the war on terror in Afghanistan and Iraq, I pay tribute to those heroic Americans who have given all to their country.  Our armed forces and their families deserve our gratitude not just on a holiday created to honor the fallen, but every day; their willingness to fight and die to protect country and liberty is an ever-present reminder that freedom is not free.  The very privilege I have to be able to freely express my opinions on this blog site was bought with the blood of those who stormed the beaches of Normandy, charged on Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg, and the Marines who fought Japanese artillery to raise our flag atop Mount Suribachi at Iwo Jima.  In the name of democracy, these same veterans have fought to uphold a common freedom across the globe and defended foreign nations from oppression and despotism.

          At this juncture in history in which I observe the bulwark of our liberties, the Constitution, being ignored, trampled upon, and stretched to fit political agendas, I vow that I will do all in my power to stand alongside those Americans who love and fight for this great country and the freedoms for which our proud flag stands.  Our union is never more than a generation from the brink of dissolution, nor our freedoms secure from the strong-arm of tyranny.  The inheritance of freedom will stand as a testament to our veterans' memories long after the engraved stones bearing witness to their heroism fade.  

          Though it is our Creator who endows liberty, it is our veterans and those currently serving who have preserved it here on earth.  The Bible teaches that the greatest love a man can possess is the willingness to lay down his life for his friends, and this holiday is a reminder of that love and sacrifice, the most important of which came on the cross some two-thousand years ago.

In loving memory of my grandfather Everett Gosnell, WWII veteran, who returned from the war to lead a quiet, virtuous life dedicated to his family and the land he loved

~Elf