This thing we celebrate this weekend, freedom.... I have no idea how to describe what it means to me or how immeasurably grateful I am for God's grace in allowing me to live in the United States of America. Here are some thoughts on freedom from men and women much wiser than myself whose understanding of freedom mirrors my own.
May we never forget how our forefathers fought against tyranny and oppression over 200 years ago to give the people of this country, the best damn country on earth, the right to live independently. May we also never forget the blood that was shed and the lives that were given to ensure we what we have today. And if we ever dare forget, may the Lord have mercy on us all.
.......
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." ~Ronald Reagan
"I have no fear that the result of our experiment will be that men may be trusted to govern themselves without a master." ~Thomas Jefferson
"Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err." ~Mohandas Gandhi
"Freedom is never dear at any price. It is the breath of life. What would a man not pay for living?" ~Mohandas Gandhi
"The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission." ~John F. Kennedy
"The patriot's blood is the seed of Freedom's tree." ~Thomas Campbell
"The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either." ~Benjamin Franklin
"A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom." ~Bob Dylan
"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." ~George Washington
"We must be willing to pay a price for freedom." ~H. L. Mencken
"There are two visions of America. One precedes our founding fathers and finds its roots in the harshness of our puritan past. It is very suspicious of freedom, uncomfortable with diversity, hostile to science, unfriendly to reason, contemptuous of personal autonomy. It sees America as a religious nation. It views patriotism as allegiance to God. It secretly adores coercion and conformity. Despite our constitution, despite the legacy of the Enlightenment, it appeals to millions of Americans and threatens our freedom.
The other vision finds its roots in the spirit of our founding revolution and in the leaders of this nation who embraced the age of reason. It loves freedom, encourages diversity, embraces science and affirms the dignity and rights of every individual. It sees America as a moral nation, neither completely religious nor completely secular. It defines patriotism as love of country and of the people who make it strong. It defends all citizens against unjust coercion and irrational conformity.
This second vision is our vision. It is the vision of a free society. We must be bold enough to proclaim it and strong enough to defend it against all its enemies." ~Rabbi Sherwin Wine
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it." ~Thomas Paine
"Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground." ~Frederick Douglass
"Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry is own weight, this is a frightening prospect." ~Eleanor Roosevelt
"Freedom - to walk free and own no superior." ~Walt Whitman
"It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men." ~Samuel Adams
"The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending against all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks." ~Samuel Adams
"Posterity: you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it." ~John Quincy Adams
"As soon as laws are necessary for men, they are no longer fit for freedom." ~Pythagoras
"None who have always been free can understand the terrible fascinating power of the hope of freedom to those who are not free." ~Pearl S. Buck
"Freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have the courage to defend it." ~Pericles
"You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once." ~H. L. Mencken
"Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die." ~Dwight D. Eisenhower
"I believe that liberty is the only genuinely valuable thing that men have invented, at least in the field of government, in a thousand years. I believe that it is better to be free than to be not free, even when the former is dangerous and the latter safe. I believe that the finest qualities of man can flourish only in free air – that progress made under the shadow of the policeman's club is false progress, and of no permanent value. I believe that any man who takes the liberty of another into his keeping is bound to become a tyrant, and that any man who yields up his liberty, in however slight the measure, is bound to become a slave." ~H. L. Mencken
"So long as the people do not care to exercise their freedom, those who wish to tyrannize will do so; for tyrants are active and ardent, and will devote themselves in the name of any number of gods, religious and otherwise, to put shackles upon sleeping men." ~Voltaire
"It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them." ~Mark Twain
