A day late for Veterans Day, but one more ever-timely and relevant years-old piece I wrote: My 11-years-old self's opinion on Freedom, as written for the Sertoma Club's "What Freedom Means To Me" Essay Contest when I was in the sixth grade:
As Americans, all of us... old or young, black or white... share equally in a richness more valuable than gold. Though we often take it for granted, our special richness is the envy of people all over the world. Our richness is precious and grows as we use and respect it. America's very unique and special richness has a name. It is called Freedom.
Freedom is such a natural part of our lives that we often forget its value. We do not often really think about the freedom that allows us to worship wherever and however we choose. Yet for centuries and still today there are people all over the world who do not have religious freedom. We sometimes ignore the freedom to vote for positions of our choice, and we often forget that it is our society's freedom that allows us to take open and even strong positions in opposition to the government without fear of persecution. Yet in many countries, the price of opposition is death. It is America's free society that allows us to read books and see plays without censorship, to attend open schools, to share in a responsible legal system. Throughout history, many civilizations had none of these freedoms.
Like all great riches, the freedoms that we Americans enjoy have had a heavy cost over the last two centuries. From the first shot of the Revolution to the fields of Gettsyburg and Shiloh, to the shores of France or the jungles of Vietnam, American men and women have defended and won the rights we enjoy today. Yet even hard-won riches require continued attention from us. For freedom to mean anything, it requires us to respect one another, to show tolerance, and most of all to understand that with freedom comes responsibility.
A few years ago I asked my uncle, who years ago had been severely wounded in Vietnam, if he was bitter about what happened to him. I will never forget his answer. He told me that he had enjoyed the freedom of being an American, and that keeping that freedom meant behaving responsibly within the law, being prepared to give back, as well as take. He said that freedom without responsibility was only chaos, and not freedom at all. It is that sense of freedom, with respect and responsibility, that has made America the great nation that it is, and that has preserved the freedoms we enjoy today.
No comments:
Post a Comment