Fighting for Freedom

A few weeks ago I stood on the beaches of Normandy.  At Omaha Beach I was awed by the remnants that remain of the battle that took place 75 years ago.  A battle that included members of my own family.  The attached newspaper page has an article about my Uncle Bill who was part of a battalion that helped clear the beach of the obstacles put out to slow any attempted landing there. Among those defenses was The Czech hedgehogs a simple and deadly surprise for those who wanted to storm the beach.  The story of his unit getting honored by General Eisenhower for their bravery under fire.  At the end of the article it references my other uncles and my father who joined the fight in France.  Helping to win the war for the allies.

I do not know what war is like, but the newsreels and the stories put to film created a frightening scene of death and destruction.  The message of the D-day museum was not only the bravery of the warriors and the horror they faced, but what they were fighting for through the artillery, blood and death.  Young men, some in their teens, joined the battle to fight for freedom.  While I can assume their heads weren't filled with the detailed nuance of the fight between Western Liberalism and the Authoritarian ideology of the Nazis and the fascists of Italy, they knew that if Europe fell that the ideals of our democracy were at risk.

So it is truly appropriate as we celebrate today the freedom they helped save as we remember the founders of the United States and our Declaration of our Independence on July 4th.  Our country has been evolving in spreading that freedom to more and more people.  But we must always remember that our freedom is fragile.  As we celebrate today we have seen the rise of authoritarianism in Europe and even her in the US.  We have a President who seems in awe of the power of dictators and  want to be like them.  He seems to want to set aside the rule of law, most recently defying a Supreme Court ruling on the census and the citizenship question.  As we think about the freedom that was conceived by our founders who were tired of living by the whims of a single ruler so too do we have to remember that the real power of our nation must remain in the governed.  That the people of the nation matter and our voices should be heard.  This isn't about a partisan rant but true patriotism is not honoring a man but the values that build this nation.  Let us remember words so important to our nation's birth:

 That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

May this July 4th be meaningful, fun and reflective.