The Price of Freedom - Part 2

In my high school days I was honored to receive invitations to speak at the many local and area civic organizations' meetings.

This is part 2 of a speech I delivered to the Fairbanks Rotary Club just prior to Independence Day, 1965. Many of the things I said then still apply today, and all of it is important to recall at all times. This was a pretty gutsy thing for a teen to be saying to a roomful of adults.

The real purpose, the real reason for Independence Day is to honor the 56 men who signed for us when they pledged their lives, their fortunes and their honor. How do we go about it today? How do we pay our respects and gratitude to these men? Certainly not in any manner we can be proud of. Every Fourth, the public speakers and politicians feed us the same comfortable, polite speeches – offending no one. They usually consist of the same old flowers and tombstone malarkey, flowing with eloquence and pap.

Afterwards we shoot off our fireworks, gorge ourselves with hot dogs and watermelons, and just can't wait 'till the Fourth rolls around again. That is the way we say thank you to the men who gave us our nation. Sickening... absolutely sickening.

By now you should be quite aware that I am delivering no polite, comfortable speech. What I am doing is delivering an indictment against each and everyone of us. No. I'm not leaving myself out, either. I suffer from the same sickness, only, I am trying to do something about it.

You say, "Okay, so we are a little lax in this respect. How do we go about honoring these men properly? After all, I was under the impression that was what we are doing now." The answer is simple; the way to go about honoring these men is through protecting their works. And you do that by exercising a little individual responsibility. Pure and simple, just act like mature responsible citizens, every day of the year.

It is my contention that very few of us are doing it, and here is where the sadness and tragedy of not remembering the 56 comes in – the results of our not acting as mature, responsible citizens is very evident, even to those who have political sight problems. Look around you. Open your eyes. The tragic results of our irresponsibility are quite plain to see.

There is the rising crime rate and the shackling our police.

The rioting and burning in our cities.

The filth and outright lies on the so-called newsstands.

The perversion on our movie screens and televisions.

The drugs being used in colleges, high schools, and junior highs.

The war we are not allowed to win. How many wars can the United States afford to lose? I contend NONE!

Then there is apathy... letting the minority, who are more than glad to do it, lead you down the primrose path to national wrack and ruin like blind sheep.

The enactment of clearly unconstitutional legislation without even a whimper from us.

There are the hippies and their "tune in, turn on, drop out" culture.

Finally, the most dangerous of all mental escape artists, there is the "Lost Generation." That is: you and I. And you are thinking, "What in the world am I talking about?"

Well, I'll repeat it. We are the Lost Generation. Since all things must be neatly labeled and slotted, the title that fits us best is the Lost Generation. As I clarify that you will learn how you can and must pay your price for Freedom. Don't ever think that it is all bought and paid for. Every generation must make the next installment and keep Freedom renewed.

You are lost because you do not express your own opinions. You let the press, along with the radio and TV do it for you, even if they are wrong. How many of you know if what you think is your own opinion, is the result of your own mental processes, or is the result of a lie repeated over and over again by the mass media until you think it is your own?

You are lost because you are so wrapped up in your own little worlds, so engrossed in your jobs and your little social meetings, to teach your children love, obedience, respect and responsibility. You leave that to the schools!

Yet, how many of you really know what the schools are teaching your children? Have you taken a look at the history books they are using? In the short time since I was in grade school, they have stopped teaching history as you and I know it, and are teaching propaganda – propaganda against the principles on which our country was founded. If you don't believe me, read your child's history texts.i

You let a few politicians ram rod this country into a shambles, and are content to vote them back into office time and again. The politicians and economists have you believing that they, and they alone, are qualified to run the national economy. Into debt and chaos, yes they are qualified.

Don't buy it! It is you, not they, who make the money that makes this country go. You have a right, no, an obligation to see that your money is spent on a sound economic basis the same way you would invest money into your own business concerns. How many of you would run your own business the way you are letting the politicians run the nation?

Yes. We are truly lost.

The way you find yourselves again is to start at home. Sure, you love your children, but are you too busy to let them know it? Are you too busy social climbing to find out what the schools are teaching them? You get angry when your teenager gets a traffic ticket. I say look at the clear reflection of your own driving habits in his. Do you teach respect for the law by sneering at law enforcement officers, and by saying don't get caught 'cause if you do, you get punished? Do you know, or even care bout what goes on in school board meetings, city council meetings, in state and national legislatures? Or, do you leave that to the minority as you have left every thing else?

Therefore, the price you and I must pay to keep our freedoms is involvement in a knowledgeable, responsible manner. Because the minority that is running things now will only be too happy to keep on running and ruining. You have said, "Let George do it" for far too long. And, George is a little tired of doing your work for you. So get up off your apathy!

It is time to get involved. Involved with your children and your nation. This Fourth of July is the day of decision. For as Rousseau stated: "As soon as any man says of the affairs of the state, 'What does it matter to me?' The state may be given up for lost."

You must decide soon, and this Fourth of July is as good a time as any, if the affairs of the state and nation matter to you. If they don't, then think of your children. They will suffer from your lack of action.

It isn't too late, yet. We can still go forward and build a greater nation and in honor of the 56 signers who gave it to use.

But, gentlemen, the hour is upon us.