Memorial Day. What did they die for?
Written by Paul Zannucci on 9:51 AM
It is a simple question, yet one that is rarely asked or answered. What is the sacrifice that we celebrate on Memorial Day? What did they die for? The mainstream liberal not running for office will likely tell you they died for, or because of, government. This is actually the opposite of the truth. In fact, it is through opposites that we may find the truth.
The opposite of autonomy is oversight. The opposite of tyranny is liberty. The opposite of big government is little government and in little government is where we find freedom. As the amount of government goes up, the amount of freedom goes down. As the number of people forced into equality rises, the number of people free to reap their own rewards sinks.
Our founding fathers wanted to try a unique experiment in this country. More than simple democracy, what they infused into our system—The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, The Bill of Rights—was freedom. Government, predominately the wild and untamed variety, was everywhere and had been everywhere since the beginning of civilization.
It was not something so common as government that our forefathers wanted or fought the Revolutionary War for. It was not something so common as government that so many young men through the intervening centuries signed up to fight and give their lives for. In fact, for all these heroes it was something quite the opposite. It was freedom they gave their lives for.
For anyone who ever died for this country, government has been available wherever they might go. What was different in America was the limited scope of that government and the resulting freedom that this novel experiment brought.
The opposite of autonomy is oversight. The opposite of tyranny is liberty. The opposite of big government is little government and in little government is where we find freedom. As the amount of government goes up, the amount of freedom goes down. As the number of people forced into equality rises, the number of people free to reap their own rewards sinks.
Our founding fathers wanted to try a unique experiment in this country. More than simple democracy, what they infused into our system—The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, The Bill of Rights—was freedom. Government, predominately the wild and untamed variety, was everywhere and had been everywhere since the beginning of civilization.
It was not something so common as government that our forefathers wanted or fought the Revolutionary War for. It was not something so common as government that so many young men through the intervening centuries signed up to fight and give their lives for. In fact, for all these heroes it was something quite the opposite. It was freedom they gave their lives for.
For anyone who ever died for this country, government has been available wherever they might go. What was different in America was the limited scope of that government and the resulting freedom that this novel experiment brought.
On this Memorial Day, reflect upon what it is in America that is worth fighting for. We do not die for government here. We die for freedom.
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