"What the 4th of July Means to Me...
By: Beverly Haire
The 4th of July means a lot of different things to me...a time to be
grateful to those who sacrificed their freedom, so that I might have
mine. A time to pay homage to those who gave their lives as the
ultimate price in the name of freedom, and a time to remember those who
were scarred and maimed, some physically, all mentally...while fighting
for that freedom. It is a time to think about the high cost of this
freedom and the fact that FREEDOM IS NOT FREE.
It is a time to take inventory of our elected government officials
in this land of the free and home of the brave. And, it is a time to
feel sadness and disgust in the inventory results. It is a time to
reflect on the fact that we have a president who is a draft dodger with
no regard for the men left behind in a war in which his only
participation was, in protest against it. It is a time to feel shame
as a conscienceless ambassador and a despicable Senator, both of whom
are former POW's...are now selling out heir fellow POW/MIA's left behind
in Southeast Asia.
It is a time to feel renewed sorrow for the families of those left
behind, and to make a more concerted effort to seek answers for them.
It is a time to forget the old adage "nothing is written in stone",
and a time to remember the more than 58,000 names written in stone on
The Wall.
Most of all it is a time to remember that...memories are a gift from
God, and should be treasured as a lasting legacy. It is a time to
remember that memories continue to bring comfort, joy, and healing, and
they enable our lost loved ones to live forever in our hearts. It is a
time to find renewed hope in activism, in fighting to give purpose to
our losses. It is a time to understand that holding on to hope requires
active participation and, that hope comes in small steps, and we must
seize each one of them. It is a time to give thanks to God for giving
us the gifts of memories, hope, and most of all...love.
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Copyright--Beverly Haire 1998