Freedom has a price
As citizens of the United States, we look forward to celebrating the 235th birthday of our country. July 4, 2011, will be celebrated next Monday with many folks simply seeing this as a long weekend to be away from work, spend time with family and friends, grill their favorite foods and spend time having fun in the sun. Even though those things are important and fun, we all need to stop and remember that we are celebrating our country and our freedom.
The word freedom is a noun, which if I remember correctly from my early grammar studies is a person, place, or thing. When pondering freedom you could almost fit it into any of the three. Freedom is alive, made up of the life and breath of those who defend it today.
Freedom is also a place when thought of as a state of mind. It is also a thing when we think how it relates to each one of us. Freedom is defined as the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.
We do, however, need guidelines to prevent one person’s freedom from taking away the freedom of another.
The Bill of Rights from our constitution deals with our freedom of religion, speech, right to assemble, the press, right to free association and the right to keep and bear arms. The founding fathers felt the citizens of this country should have these rights and they should also be protected.
Many have fought and died to ensure that we are still able to enjoy the freedoms set forth in the beginning days of our country. But we as Americans seem to take so many of the freedoms we enjoy for granted and in many instances have lost freedom in certain areas and stand to lose more in the future.
Freedom always has and always will have a price. Unfortunately there are many in the world we live in who are jealous of the life we have in this country. They wish nothing more than to destroy us as a nation. However we are a strong country made up of men and women who are proud to be Americans and even though we may disagree many times we are held together by a strong bond and love of our country. Happy birthday America and May God continue to bless the United States of America!
Randy Garrison is the general manager of the Hartselle Enquirer.
