July 3, 2014 - Freedom is a fleeting and fragile way of life. It has rarely existed. It can be taken from without. It can be lost from within. The military protects against the former. The people protect against the latter. On the Fourth of July I think of those pivotal decisions made by our great military leaders and servicemembers. Where would we be today had George Washington not determined to cross the Potomac? What if the garrison had elected not to stand out the British bombardment at Fort McHenry? Where might we be had Gen. Anthony Clement McAuliffe not simply replied "nuts!"My uncle is buried in Luxembourg from that battle. My young cousin served in Afghanistan. My relatives have been in the Marines, the Air Force and the Army. And friends are at the tip of the spear in Afghanistan. Of late I ponder to what extent we are worthy or their sacrifice. Teachers, lawyers, reporters, and politicians help administer and organize our freedom. But only after it has been gained and protected for us by our soldiers. Without them most all else would be moot. Another different system would overtake and hand us its rules to obey. And I suspect they would not be as personally enjoyable and healthful as those we write for ourselves. The world is full of bullies, desirous of structuring other peoples' lives, and removing thinkers and writers who oppose them. That is not the American way. We are the chief agents of freedom in the world. Absent the counterweight of America's force, the weight of the dark forces would gradually push outward to more of the planet, diminishing our safety.
Many smaller nations enjoy peace because of our presence. All of which is provided and protected by our military servicemembers. A force for good. Not occupiers. Nor bullies. Protectors. Defenders. Liberators. I am therefore free to write this, and for the most part you remain free to read it without worrying about a knock at your door for having done so. Perhaps we should be better stewards of the freedom bought for us at so dear a price by our neighbors who serve in America's military. Perhaps we should be better stewards of our precious nation. What right do you have to ask someone to risk their life for your nation if you are not going to protect and care for it? Freedom is a wonderful thing, purchased at a terrible price, protected at great cost, and lost in a heartbeat or any thousand small unwatched steps. Enjoy it, honor, it, respect it, extol its virtues, spread it. What else is the alternative? The Fourth of July is a celebration of our freedom, tied to the date our citizen-soldiers won it for us. It is not a military holiday. It is The American Holiday.
The day we threw off rulers and said we would govern ourselves. And the forces of central control have endeavored to reclaim us ever since, both from without and from within. It is the perpetual struggle of the individual against the state. Individual freedoms versus government edict. It is why our Founding Fathers broke apart the central power of governance into three parts, kept the bulk of the rights in the separate states, and kept the states independent as a republic. Absent such, power would gather back into the single mass which had after millennia just been thrown off. If we enjoy our freedoms enough to nourish and protect them, we do honor to those we asked to gain and protect them for us. If we allow them to be tampered with, we dishonor them. So this on this red, white and blue Fourth of July embrace the purity of belief for which the white in our flag stands, the separate and unique systems and beliefs of each state's star united under a common umbrella as indicated by the blue field of the flag, and honor respect and cherish the blood sacrificed to make it all possible for you by America's military servicemembers as represented by our flag's red stripes. Decide who you are. What you are made of. For what you will stand. Are you worthy of their efforts? The decision is yours. T
he daily freedom each of us who enjoys is hard. Innumerable hard choices. Risk. Loss. Worry. Failure. Success. Wonder. Ideas, Conversation. Endless possibilities. The biggest choice is to abandon the individual freedom God intended for each of us, to be drawn to the anonymous blob of state management and control of your daily affairs. Of dependency. America's borders are inked with the blood of her citizen-soldiers. In view of that, each may reflect on the proper way to treat the results of their sacrifices. In fact, the red in our flag belongs to our troops. It is in honor of them and a demonstration of the cost of freedom. As the predominant force for Good in the world, dark forces constantly seek to weaken us. Few are willing to risk so much blood and treasure for the sake of others. Why does freedom bear such a high price? Because the dark side is essentially active and aggressive, and Good is essentially passive an inviting. It is in the nature of bad to expand, and as an agent of good it will always be coming for us. As for me, I like to celebrate my freedom always mindful of the danger others have confronted to give it to me and protect it for me. It gives me greater strength in enjoying and protecting it. In being a good steward of the very precious things that was handed to me. I invite you to go forth with a resolve to read and gain a better understanding of the special nature of who we are and what we do in this world, the position we play in the eternal contest between good and evil, what people's lives were like before us, and what they would be like without us. For this Independence Day 2014, and on behalf of all grateful Americans, I thank each and every individual American Servicemember for our freedom. Thank you, each and every one. Martin C. Boire, Chairman Support Our Troops® July 3, 2014