| July
2, 2006
As we approach the celebration of the Declaration of Independence of
the United States of America, we have a lot to think about.
I would be remiss not to mention those who openly defied authority to
declare our country's freedom. I would be just as remiss not to
mention those who fought and died to preserve the freedom that we hold so
dear.
But the cost of freedom is never paid in full. We must guard
against those who believe they have a moral imperative to imprison,
torture, or kill those who believe differently from them. And we
must guard against those who would suspend civil rights and liberties in
the name of protecting our life and liberty.
As much as Americans have grown to detest much of the behavior of the
media, the founding fathers knew they were another check-and-balance in
our society. The free press is our watchdog -- it is ours to
control and ours to use as we see fit to oversee the actions of those we
allow to be in power.
And that is one of the differences between our society and that of
others. No matter how out-of-control things seem sometimes, we
the people get the final say.
We must guard each other's freedoms as we would guard our own -- for if
we fail to protect someone else's freedom, the next victim may very well
be us.
We must protect and provide for our elderly, for they are the strength
of our past and will soon be us. We must protect and provide for our
children, for they are our hope for the future and once were us.
We must learn and remember our own history, for as South American
philosopher George Santayana once wrote: "those who fail to learn from
history are doomed to repeat it."
I could continue to elaborate, but then we might miss the
celebration. Happy 4th!
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