Freedom Is Never Free

This week we will again celebrate Independence Day, complete with parades, picnics, and of course fireworks. In large cities and small towns across this country elected officials will stand on podiums and herald the significance of living in freedom here in the United States of America. However, when was the last time any of us really took a moment to think about the price paid, so that we can enjoy this kind of freedom?

While this cause of freedom was not born on July 4, 1776, it actually started a few years prior, it is important to note just what those fifty-six men put at risk on that day in Philadelphia. That last line above their signatures was foretelling of what would lie ahead, “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

Imagine for a moment just what was at stake in Independence Hall on that day when well-educated men of means agreed together that the cause of freedom was more important than any personal gain they had achieved, or would in the future. It is important to note that every signatory of that document risked a traitors hanging if captured by the British. That day changed all of their own and families lives forever. Many lost everything including their lives, most would never achieve the status or possessions they had enjoyed before the war, but the torch of liberty was burning in their souls, and willingly they made that pledge to each other and this nation.

Thomas Jefferson, one of two signers who would eventually serve as the President of the United States, and who also was the author of the Declaration of Independence, once proclaimed that, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” From a rag-tag militia who defeated the British at Lexington and Concord to current conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other hotspots around the world, millions of men and women have answered and many have died for this cause of liberty. May we never forget how great the price that has been paid for our freedom.

The celebrations that many of us will participate in this week are extremely important, but we should not just celebrate, we must also educate. As your children and grandchildren gather around you this week take time to tell them about those fifty-six men who signed that document proclaiming “…that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Talk to them about the generations of men and women who have and still defend this nation both at home and abroad. Even in our own families, if we just start looking into our own heritage, we can find examples of patriots who lived and died for this cause of liberty. Patriots who believed in the cause of liberty lit the torch of freedom, and we should teach every generation the importance of keeping that torch burning brightly. Even now, there are those who would love nothing more than to see America’s cause of freedom become only a footnote in the history of the world.

Former President Ronald Reagan captured the importance of educating our children about the price of freedom when he said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

To all I would like to wish you a very blessed and happy holiday this week. Have fun, be safe, and remember freedom is never free and we all must protect this cause of liberty that so many have fought and died to keep. The United States of America can still be that shining city on the hill and lead the cause of freedom around the world if we will just keep the flame lit. Happy Independence Day, and may God continue to bless America!