Engraved large on one of the walls of the Korean War Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC are the words “Freedom is not free.”
It is sad that so many are unable or unwilling to appreciate the truth of this simple phrase or are ready to heed those who have or seek power who distort it.
I cannot think of anything hurting us more today than false and confused notions about the nature of the ideal of freedom.
Recently Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) appeared on Chris Matthews’ Hardball show and in discussion about voter ID laws he said that voting should be as easy as “getting a glass of fresh water.”
He equated requiring a picture ID to vote to Jim Crow laws and poll taxes.
It is particularly troubling to hear this from Lewis, a battle scarred veteran of the civil rights movement.
The National Mall and the streets of Washington are filled in the summer with tourists – many families with kids – visiting our Capital. They can see the collection of symbols and memorials across the Mall testifying to the truth that “Freedom is not free.”
A five minute walk from the Korean War Veterans Memorial is the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, which serves as a reminder of the struggles of the civil rights movement.
A few minutes in the other direction is the World War II Memorial.
And heading back around again you encounter the sad swath of black stone in which the names of over 50,000 lost in the war in Vietnam are engraved.
Looking out over it all at the base of the reflecting pool is Abraham Lincoln, who presided over the blood bath in which more than half a million Americans died in the internecine struggle for the nation’s survival and ideals.
A short ride over Memorial Bridge takes one to Arlington National Cemetery and the flowing green pastures filled with uniform white gravestones of our soldiers fallen fighting our many wars.
The struggle to protect and maintain a free society and to build on it so that we can continue to climb higher never ends.
Certainly someone who put his life on the line struggling for civil rights, like John Lewis, should know this.
How can he possibly conclude that voting – the privilege to make one’s voice heard as part of the ongoing deliberations central to our enterprise of advancing human freedom - should be as easy “as getting a glass of fresh water?”
A free society will soon not be free if the citizens in it see their freedom as something that should arrive effortlessly, free of personal responsibility, like the appearance of the morning sun. Black leaders do damage to our nation, and to our black citizens, to call requirements for a modicum of personal responsibility in order to vote racism.
A study published earlier this year by the Pew Center on the States characterized America’s voter registration system as “Inaccurate, Costly, and Inefficient.”
Among its conclusions are that “approximately 24 million voter registrations in the U.S. are no longer valid or significantly inaccurate; more than 1.8 million deceased individuals are listed as voters; approximately 2.75 million people have registrations in more than one state.”
In 2008, the Supreme Court considered Indiana’s voter ID law, which the NY Times then reported was “considered the strictest in the country,” and found it constitutional.
Every American should celebrate efforts requiring responsibility for clear proof of identity when registering to vote. And every American should appreciate the importance of efforts by states, like that taking place now in Florida, to update and ensure the honesty and integrity of voter files.
Freedom is not free. To the extent that Americans of any background do not appreciate this, we will long for the days when we were free.
Author's note: This tribute was written by my good friend Steve Sheldon.
This Memorial Day, while you are enjoying your class reunion, family get-together, outdoor barbeque, or an extra day off work, please remember all the Bernie Deghands who died serving this great country so that you can enjoy the freedoms that have been bought and paid for with real lives of real people. When the Stars and Stripes bows at half staff and flutters proudly in the breeze, think about their pain, their broken bodies, their final moments, see their faces, reflect on their sacrifice, pray for their families, remember their parents, wives, and children. This is why we have Memorial Day.
Bernie was a character of all characters. The only time that I wasn’t laughing at Bernie was when his sometimes cruel sense of humor was directed at me. He spared no one and his career paid the price many times. Bernie was demoted more times than I was ever promoted, even serving time in the brig for decking an officer. The only rank that Bernie didn’t have twice was Master Sergeant only because he was promoted posthumously. Bernie always did what needed to be done and said what needed to be said, regardless of who was offended. He was quick with an insult, which was uproariously funny as long as it was at someone else’s expense. That being said, he was also an excellent soldier.
One could always count on Bernie to show the way or to help you with a difficult task. He might have ridiculed you for not knowing, but I think secretly, he took great pride in helping out his teammates. There are far too many stories to share for this medium from the naked Bernie walking across the AO in his web gear, boots, and Kevlar helmet, to the all-pro wrestling moves, to the million practical jokes, to the fourteen stitches and scar on the top of my head resulting from a rock throwing contest which he probably won.
Bernie was taken from us on 15 September, 2006 in a firefight near Kandahar, Afghanistan. I do not know the circumstances of his death, but I am sure that he went down in the thick of it all. He wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Bernie left behind a wife, two daughters and a step son, brothers and sisters, and parents that miss his sense of humor at every family function. He will never be there for his children again, never. No birthdays, no graduations, no fishing trips, no weekend outings, no impromptu wrestling matches, no canoe trips, no first dates, no proms, no weddings, no grandchildren’s births, nothing. Never.
Bernie and countless others died so that you and others might be free, even those in foreign lands who can now enjoy their own freedoms, only a dream just a few short years ago. Was it worth it? I guess it depends on what’s done with those freedoms. What are you doing with yours? Are you doing your part? Do you cherish them? Do you guard them like precious jewels?
If you see me at a ceremony, don’t mind me if I get misty eyed. Don’t mind my children when they ask a little too loudly, “Mommy, why does Daddy always get tears in his eyes during the National Anthem?” Help me to teach them that we live in the greatest country the world has ever known only because others have made it so. Help me to teach them that patriotism isn’t a political act, but it is Duty, Honor, Country. Support me in teaching them that the Flag of the United States is a symbol to be cherished, loved, and defended. Help me impart to them that Freedom Isn’t Free.
Let us train our children to stand vigilant, guarding day and night those hard fought freedoms from those who would take them away in the name of safety, security, or convenience where the real reason is greed, envy, or political power. We are the greatest nation in the world because we are free. The right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is a birthright given to us by those who paid the ultimate price, like Bernie. Honor their sacrifice and guard those freedoms diligently so that their suffering is not in vain.
Here’s to all the Bernies this Memorial Day. May they rest in peace, and may the rest of us honor their memory this day.
"You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children's children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done."
Ronald Reagan
Issa: We have a problem in America which is we misunderstand quite frankly what the Second Amendment is for, it's for law abiding citizens to have a right both to protect themselves and to be protected from living under tyranny.
Adolf Hitler's use of firearms registration lists to confiscate guns and the execution of their owners teaches a forceful lesson -- one that reveals why the American people and Congress have rejected registering honest firearm owners.
The Night of the Broken Glass (Kristallnacht)--the infamous Nazi rampage against Germany's Jews--took place in November 1938. It was preceded by the confiscation of firearms from the Jewish victims. On Nov. 8, the New York Times reported from Berlin, "Berlin Police Head Announces 'Disarming' of Jews," explaining:
The Berlin Police President, Count Wolf Heinrich von Helldorf, announced that as a result of a police activity in the last few weeks the entire Jewish population of Berlin had been "disarmed" with the confiscation of 2,569 hand weapons, 1,702 firearms and 20,000 rounds of ammunition. Any Jews still found in possession of weapons without valid licenses are threatened with the severest punishment.
On the evening of Nov. 9, Adolf Hitler, Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, and other Nazi chiefs planned the attack. Orders went out to Nazi security forces: "All Jewish stores are to be destroyed immediately . . . . Jewish synagogues are to be set on fire . . . . The Führer wishes that the police does not intervene. . . . All Jews are to be disarmed. In the event of resistance they are to be shot immediately."
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The affirmation by our Founders in the Declaration of Independence that all men “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights” establishes a Law and obligation higher than human government to which governments are obligated. This is the true foundation of American Freedom. It is why our Constitutioin, first and foremost, protects us from government, itself. -- Ronald Reagan
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The affirmation by our Founders in the Declaration of Independence that all men “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights” establishes a Law and obligation higher than human government to which governments are obligated. This is the true foundation of American Freedom. It is why our Constitutioin, first and foremost, protects us from government, itself. -- Ronald Reagan
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"I watched the flag pass by one day,
Engraved large on one of the walls of the Korean War Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC are the words “Freedom is not free.”
Ginny Simone talks to NRA President David Keene.
Lt. Col. Oliver North delivers a speech at the 2012 NRA Celebration of American Values Leadership Forum.
"You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children's children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done."
Issa: We have a problem in America which is we misunderstand quite frankly what the Second Amendment is for, it's for law abiding citizens to have a right both to protect themselves and to be protected from living under tyranny.
Don't forget our American Warriors as they Fight, Live and Die to keep our Country Free. 
The affirmation by our Founders in the Declaration of Independence that all men “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights” establishes a Law and obligation higher than human government to which governments are obligated. This is the true foundation of American Freedom. It is why our Constitutioin, first and foremost, protects us from government, itself. -- Ronald Reagan
