From the NFRW Armed Services Committee
By CAPT (Ret) Mary Smart, USN (HI)
Happy 4th of July – Independence Day – the day we celebrate our freedom from tyrants and tyranny.
At our founding, our forefathers put everything on the line stating, “We Pledge Our Lives, Our Fortunes, and Our Sacred Honor” to create governance that is based on the premise, “for the people, by the people.” That is the legacy that has been passed down to us.
However, Benjamin Franklin, in response to what kind of government had been formed following the war of independence, is reported to have said, “a republic, if you can keep it.”
President Ronald Reagan warned us, “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.”
As we celebrate our national independence with fireworks, parades, and yummy food, we must understand that “freedom is never free.” We must be vigilant through all generations at a cost of time and energy. And in times of revolutions and wars, we must be willing to give our all to preserve our sovereignty and freedoms as an endowment to subsequent generations.
Remember those who give their all to keep us free!