Remember This: Freedom's Nothing If Strings Are Attached

Most things in life come with strings attached. Take my breakfast banana this morning - strings.

I think Sam loves me - at least likes me a lot - but what if I quit giving him treats? My Social Security check is at my bank, but it won’t be deposited until Wednesday. I’m receiving supposedly “free” TV now over the internet, but I still have to pay for movies and sports, and the news is mostly yesterdays’. And it’s true that there’s NO free lunch.

Got my truck tires rotated for free recently at Les Schwas’, but of course I’d already bought the tires there. I should be able to get some free garage sale signs from the local newspaper when I decide to hold my sale. But, the signs are only free if I place a garage sale ad in the paper first. You can read my books for free - if you buy one first (just thought I’d sneak that in).

So, happy Memorial Day.

Slave children honoring dead Union soldiers

What you need to remember about that is it didn’t come free either. According to something I saw posted on Face book, America’s Memorial Day was started by former slaves on May, 1, 1865 in Charleston, SC, to honor 257 dead Union Soldiers who had been buried in a mass grave in a Confederate prison camp. The slaves dug up the bodies and worked for two weeks to give them a proper burial as gratitude for fighting for their freedom. The slaves then held a parade of 10,000 people led by 2,800 Black children where they marched, sang and celebrated. Somebody or something named Abstrakt Goldsmith has brought forward this nugget of history. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but it’s certainly worth thinking about and researching a little more.

Janis Joplin once sang, “Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose,
Nothing don't mean nothing honey if it ain't free.”

It’s tragic that America’s freedom has come at such a high price. Our Revolutionary War and the ensuing War of 1812 accounted for 45,000 dead. The Mexican-American war accounted for more than 13,000 dead. The Civil War accounted for 625,000 dead. WWI accounted for nearly 117,000 dead. WWII accounted for almost half a million dead. The Korean War accounted for more than 36,000 dead. Vietnam accounted for more than 58,000. Afghanistan and Iraq have accounted for more than 8,000 dead (and counting). Less well-known conflicts, such as the Haiti Occupation of 1915 to 1934 and the Grenada and Panama invasions of the 1980s accounted for fewer deaths - but deaths nonetheless.

In addition to memorializing our dead military men and women we also need to honor the forgotten millions of civilians caught in the cross fires of wars, especially civil wars. I pray to God this country will never suffer another Civil War yet countries all around us are, and with all the factions currently fighting for control of America, who’s to say it can’t happen here again? Let’s pray it doesn’t because too many of our people already have paid the ultimate price for our freedom. I pray every day that our leaders will find ways to resolve their different issues. Sam and I hope you are praying too.

The Vietnam Memorial