On the 4th of July, our Post will participate in the annual Edmonds July 4th parade. This parade has been recognized as one of the ten best July 4th parades in America, and the City deserves our thanks and appreciation for honoring America in such fine fashion. I urge all members of the Post to march with us in the parade and join us afterwards for what will be another terrific picnic in Edmonds City Park.
I have wonderful memories of the first time I marched in this parade. It was in 2008, after I had moved to Washington the previous summer. I was not prepared for the heartfelt reception we received as we stepped off to begin the mile long march through town. As we marched, people stood up, applauded, and shouted out “thanks”. This was the first time since I had returned home from Southeast Asia that I had ever felt this wonderful sense of love, gratitude, and approval. If you have not participated in this great celebration, I urge you to make every effort to do so. You will be glad you did.
July 4th, of course, commemorates the birth of our nation, honors our founding documents, and celebrates the freedom and liberty that all Americans enjoy. You have all made significant sacrifices during your years in the Armed Forces, and all of our lives have been touched by the ultimate sacrifices made by so many of our comrades. It is ironic that while we celebrate the 241st birthday of our great nation, we have unfolding before us a scandal in which rights, granted to us all by our Constitution, have been violated by agencies of the United States. I am, of course, referring to the tapping of phones of members of the free press and the IRS actions that violated First Amendment free speech rights. In our younger years, such actions occurred regularly behind the Iron Curtain, in Banana Republics, and by dictators.
Personally, I am outraged by such actions taken by public employees working in agencies of our government; “a government of the people, for the people and by the people”. However, I am even more outraged by apathy among our citizens. These are freedoms guaranteed to us by our Constitution and Bill of Rights, and as they are being systematically stripped away, and our response seems to be “good people doing nothing”. Ronald Reagan reminded us that “freedom is just one generation away from extinction”.
As loyal Americans it is our responsibility to preserve our freedoms, which so many of our comrades fought for and for which you fought. Our job is to ensure that those elected officials who have permitted these egregious threats to our freedoms are never returned to office again and we elect representatives who will protect and defend our Constitution.
The views expressed in this column are solely those of the Commander and do not represent those of VFW Post #8870, its membership, or VFW.