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Post by Rob W. Case on 57 minutes ago

In 1787, Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to John Adams’s Son-in-law, wrote, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” This was not, by any means, just a cavalier comment. Thomas Jefferson, along with George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and others, as stoic observers of history, experienced firsthand the reality, depth and dimension behind the need to petition a King, the need to confront his empire, and the cost of confronting that empire for independence and freedom. That was an extraordinarily significant and revolutionary thing. No one had done that before and spun off their own independently sovereign country in the history of the world.

What is fascinating about the dynamic of independence and freedom is that ordinary people were willing to step up and step in to battle, either to subdue or defeat an aggressor or a threat asserted by one. When the United States was under attack or its status of a free country was under threat, the offense enraged, inspired, emboldened, and moved to action people who were loyal to their nation and families. That said, millions of Americans put their lives on the line in order to secure the future of both. Whether it was the Revolutionary war, or whether it was the attack on Pearl Harbor, or September 11th 2001, Americans have in their blood a “fight or flight” reaction that echoes the sentiments of the delegate/Governor of South Carolina at the time of the revolution, Patrick Henry, who resoundingly and passionately stated, “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

Memorial Day is a day set aside to pay respect and honor the lives of the fallen in battle; those who took heed to answer that call to arms, placed their lives on the line to protect our nation, their families, and our way of life, but didn’t make it. Where the call to war demanded a response, they answered it, and even though they didn’t make it, their vacancy left behind an aura of heroism that rings loud and clear forever and ever. That said, Jefferson’s words, at their core, means that dire situations and circumstances that threaten the cause of freedom, calls for action, and that action in turn becomes a force, a force that “waters” that tree of liberty, in order that this country and all of its inhabitants can remain free and continue to grow. In that growth, it offers each and every one of us a chance towards fighting for something that needs to be fought for, which is a critical dynamic that needs to be kept maintained. And it is in this lively spirit that we honor the spirited who gave their lives to keep freedom available to all.