What Freedom Means to Me

*I saw my son’s middle school assignment and recognized how well this fits into Veteran’s Day….thought I’d take a stab at this topic, as an exercise.-Stew Cohen

WHAT FREEDOM MEANS TO ME

I’m the son of a veteran of World War Two, the grandson of a veteran of World War One and my brother-in-law served in the Army during the Vietnam War. My dad was shot in the leg fighting in France under General George Patton while my grandfather suffered from shell shock most of his life after two horse soldiers on either side of him were shot. Freedom has a price and they were willing to pay with their lives. Their sacrifice and the sacrifices of other soldiers have given people like me a chance to enjoy everything that freedom offers. But the gratitude I have is not only for my dad, grandfather, and brother-in-law in their service to our country, I’m thankful to all our servicemen and women for their sacrifices. They’ve been off in battle at places around the world, fighting for our freedom, and I for one, can only describe Veteran’s Day in terms of how veterans see it. They’ll say you should go up to a veteran, look him or her in the eye, and shake their hand, thanking them. Few of us can do this without a tear, so emotional is the release for veterans and for those truly understanding what it is they really are giving to us at home. They are laying on the line the greatest gift of all, their lives and yet people like my dad and grandfather did not think twice about their active service at war time. I think the best way for me personally to appreciate the freedom I’m afforded is for me to be the best person I can be, to use the freedom they allowed me to enjoy to do what I can to help others. I’ve not put on a uniform, I’ve not fought in war………nor have I suffered from a wound in battle……so how can I know what freedom means, as I’ve not put myself in a position to have to defend freedom. For me, freedom is living my life knowing there will not come a time when someone says you no longer have the right to free speech, to vote, to assemble to hold differing religious beliefs. Freedom means I won’t fear teaching my children my beliefs and expect to see someone from the government arresting me for being a Republican or Democrat, or Libertarian or Green Party member. I can protest peacefully against abortion or hope our troops will return home and do so without worrying I’ll be arrested for saying something contrary to the government’s stance. FREEDOM is not lost in my world.

EEO