Free Speech Worth Dying For

I love writing about veterans, as you know, if you read my stuff.
I try never to leave an interview without thanking the hero, whether young or old, for serving our country.
So you would think that I would write about amazing and brave military heroes on July 4th.
I could. My column would be the perfect place to do it. Here, I could share anonymously some of the things that people have entrusted to me as we visit about their experiences.
The stories that never make the paper are my favorite part of this job and nowhere are the stories more inspiring than in the quiet moments when soldiers and sailors and airmen share the things they don’t want anyone else to know.
I often tear up as they tell me the experiences they have had; about comrades they have lost, but not forgotten. They often will talk about the sacrifices made by men next to them who didn’t return, but they never want me to print the ongoing sacrifices they make or what it keeps costing their family to allow them to serve.
If there is one thing that stands out about our military heroes to me, though, it is that they believe that some things are worth dying for.
Take for instance, freedom of speech, which is what I devote my July 4th column to every year.
Every year, journalists lose their life for covering stories in regions or countries where tyrants scare people to death, starting with trying to control the media by killing journalists.
Free speech and freedom of the press are two of the many freedoms that veterans and enlisted heroes will tell you are worth defending.
Freedom of speech, supported by an independent, courageous free press, is essential for a self-governing people to be free of tyranny.
Our military heroes understand that.
If we remember why they are willing to die for our country, for the freedom you and I enjoy, we will be willing to make our own sacrifices when necessary.
While they fight abroad, we will be willing to stand up for what is right at home.
We can enjoy the blessings of freedom as we to seek justice in our communities by participating in free, vibrant public discourse without fear of threats or violent, government-sponsored repercussions.
In the moment when our freedom of speech is threatened, we should defend it. In honor of those who paid the price for it.
When you think about it, just like our warriors, valuing freedom has the potential to make heroes out of all of us.
Cathy Primer Krafve, aka Checklist Charlie, lives and writes with a Texas twang. Comments are invited at checklistcharlie.blogspot.com.