Throughout our country, for the past two days, communities and individuals have been remembering and celebrating our brave military veterans. Both my father, and Hubby's father, were veterans, and several of our uncles were as well. The amount of respect our men and women in uniform deserve is immeasurable.
It is because of our veterans, and our leaders, that we enjoy many of the freedoms we have in life. From the moment the colonies decided to break from the British monarchy, we have been fighting for freedom in many areas in life. Freedom of speech, press, religion. So many things we enjoy, and take for granted, are because our service members fought for all of us.
With freedom, however, comes responsibility. I realize that this is a pretty existential topic for my humble blog, but I see so many people shirking the responsibility that comes along with freedom, particularly when talking of freedom in the larger sense. In many ways, these larger freedoms are a choice. I choose to be free from things like drugs and alcohol, I chose to live a life free of bitterness and hatred, and I choose embrace my freedoms as an American. And I try my hardest to accept the responsibilities that go along with my freedoms.
For example, one thing that many people are longing for in today's economy is financial freedom. But in order to accept that freedom, a person has the responsibility to make wise financial choices and sacrifice non-essential expenses.
When you do not accept responsibility, you cannot fully enjoy freedom. And without enjoying your freedom, it is hard to be thankful for the ones who made your freedom possible. Given how much people have fought for our freedoms, is it really that difficult for us to give thanks and take responsibility?
