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During a paid 3 minute sermon on the radio a preacher posed the question, "What have you done to earn your freedom? Are you a taker? Think about it." He asked this after framing the signers of our Declaration of Independence as mostly people who sacrificed their lives or were ultimately arrested and tortured.
I say the Founding Fathers did not make such sacrifice so we would have to do it, too. They didn't give their lives so their children would do the same. They did it so we wouldn't have to.
On a similar note, while I respect our soldiers and appreciate the sacrifice some of them have made, some of them come home with chips on their shoulders. Some of them will ask similar questions of civilians, "What have you done to earn your freedom. I fought so you can have rights ..."
I endured such ridicule at the hands of a former friend who didn't agree with my line of reason on this topic. He had signed up for the military during a time of peace though he saw combat duty in Bosnia. He believes I as a civilian owe him something for that and that his status as a Combat Veteran trumps my right to free speech. Some how I should not even comment on Freedom since I did nothing directly to earn the right.
Well, he was paid for his service. He has his benefits. He was taught skills and all he had to do was sign up. He didn't have to interview or tryout for his position. He simply volunteered to be told exactly what to do and when to do it. He knew what he was signing up for. If he was signing up so to have a leg up on we lowly civilians, then he took that job for all the wrong reasons.
I will gladly thank soldiers for doing their jobs as I will do for construction workers and grocery clerks. I think it's time some on high horses found time to thank all productive Americans for sacrificing their time, for risking their lives during the commute if not directly on the job and for being part of the greatest economy the world has ever seen.
I will thank the Founding Fathers for my freedom and for the sacrifices they made so that I could be born with certain inalienable rights among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and I will not feel guilty for not 'earning' these rights as defined by certain elitists.
I'm Free - The Who
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10 comments:
Not like a combat vet to throw a guilt trip around. The preacher, sure. But a combat vet?
In my convenient stereotype of such veterans, they come home dignified and stoic. Not as whiny, self-righteous finger-pointers.
I dunno if I want that guy as my wingman.
I think there are a lot combat veterans returning to the States completely batty from their experiences and the psyche screw of some hero-complex is going un-treated.
IN combat they might not be dealing with watching their friends blown up as much as in our history (though it of course happens) but they have to deal with sticking knives in people's throats or blowing people apart with high-caliber weaponry. Then they have to come home and perform life back in the civilized world.
It's a lot to deal with.
But you're right, the examples I've shared to this end are the exception by my experience.
Great post Bluto! Sorry just getting to it! catching up on everything I missed... I do not know much about the topic... but what i do know... our founding fathers are badass and the constitution is amazing - now it's just up to us not to twist the original words around to fit our modern day agenda.
Free,
I am thinking you can see a connection here that I haven't articulated.
It's like a Christian demanding he/she needs to be pinned to a cross because that's what Jesus did.
It gets back to some degree to our discussion about Grace vs Deeds as Christians regard being Saved.
Am I American and worthy of her Freedoms because the founders fought and died for it, or do I have to earn it?
I would have a very tough time telling my kids they need to earn the rights with which they were born as Americans.
Maybe that's why I will never make a good Mormon.
Bluto you crack me up and make an excellent point. I am now beginning to fully understand what you mean in your post - *how sad that it took relating it to Christianity to figure it out* ugh. Hah! Okay... I agree with you. The military is voluntary...and i'm grateful that there are people willing to join. The big picture? Are they really protecting our rights anyway? Or are they caught up in some rich mans war?
Civil war - absolutely for rights. Revolutionary war - you betcha.
I earn my freedom every day by living those rights that I have. I'm not taking them for granted. That is how I see it.
On a bumper sticker the other day: Soldiers have tasted freedom the protected will never know.
Ya,
That bumper sticker seems nonsensical. Being told exactly what to do is a taste of Freedom? I guess one might say combat vets who stormed enemy lines put their freedom on the line and so maybe appreciate it more, then again, to hold that idea hostage for military hearts only seems to show a lack for understanding what it's like never to have been there.
I would say combat is innocence lost. What better Freedom than to be a child released upon the candy store? We've all done that to some extent.
Freedom is the bliss that is ignorance ...
The bumper sticker could say the same for Felons.
you capitalized "Felons."
what are you, a felon lover?
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