I served in the military during the Cold War era.
Our job was to keep an eye on our adversaries who would endanger our freedom.
It was not the freedom of the left or the right or even just Americans. We protected the world.
Freedom is a basic human desire.
It is valued in many ways for many reasons.
But freedom is often painful and costly.
A corporation values the right to make decisions freely that increase profits.
While this is good for investors, it may mean moving production to a cheaper labor force, costing jobs in America.
We can remake ourselves into the workers of the future based upon the needs of America, or we have the freedom to be angry and wish for the past.
Freedom is not humane.
We have the freedom to care.
Sometimes caring results in freedom lost.
Freedom is lost by those who must meet requirements to be helped, and by those who must help pay the cost.
Freedom is never absolute.
In order to remain free, we must sacrifice a little privacy, money, our desire to drive 90 mph in a 55 zone or indulge in too much of anything that impairs our judgment.
In order for us to live as freely as possible, some must shed blood.
We have the freedom to elect those we trust, and to vote out those who violate that trust.
We must understand that freedom is a compromise.
Freedom is not always free, or humane.
Les Carnahan,
Port Angeles