*Click on the day of the month for the daily quote.*

There are two freedoms -- the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; the true, where he is free to do what he ought....Charles Kingsley.

This quote has been a personal favorite of mine since I started my website over 2 years ago. At the time it was a personal challenge. As I have said so many times....I find encouragement for my life in the quotes, and the words of Charles Kingsley spoke directly to me. They are still continuing to mean sooo much. I find that the things I desire to stand for and the things I feel ever so strongly about are not always the things I desire to do. Not in a major way....but simply to believe a thing is right and live that way. I often "let things go"....in other words, I talk to someone and as they share with me....I sometimes refrain from voicing my opinion simply because it seems too difficult to "defend" my beliefs. I'm learning that we can't get to know each other....especially on here, unless we speak up and "tell it like it is."

I live a pretty simple life. Work, go to school, and relax with my family. I am always busy. And so I don't really feel as if I have a chance to "make a difference" very often. Sure I post all these quotes....but I do that because I love to share :-) When personally challenged, I will sometimes avoid issues I feel strongly about. When I think of the words of Charles Kingsley these days....I realize that I am not doing what I ought, which is really easy in this case....just voicing my opinion.

Just a few months back a grandfather from California sent me the story "Complacency." It is a beautiful reminder that nothing in life is actually free....there are consequences to all that is happening in the world, either negative or positive. The way the story goes is that someone gives in order to allow others of us to live any way we choose. Just as the quote says....I have the choice to do what I want or what I should....possibly they are the same thing. But quite often, the thing I should do I don't HAVE to do. It is a personal choice that requires effort and usually makes a difference to someone other than myself. 

This month, as we in America celebrate our freedom, I would like to thank those who have served and are serving in the United States military.  I know that you have many of the same desires as most other Americans....a home and family, a good job, even just an occasional night with your friends....yet you are giving of yourselves, many of you serving across the ocean right now. 

I posted this month "A Letter from a US Navy Ensign" written to his father only days after the terrorist attack on America. He states that after September 11th their port time was cancelled. He notes that they spent their days floating around with seemingly no direction....simply waiting. As you read his letter, you can feel his desire to simply do something....anything....for other people.  

I've read much this month about America's freedom. I was reminded that only about 3% of the population actually joined the revolutionary fighters. Many of the Americans actually gave shelter to the British and provided them with food....while a handful fought to make us a free nation. When this feat was accomplished....everyone reaped the benefits. As history shows....this is quite often the case, a few fight often times as in Korea and Viet Nam without the support of other Americans. But defending freedom has proven to be its own reward. 

All of this brings me to the point that America is all of us....we all are making America what it is. This month is all about freedom on the quote of the day. The stories below are just random stories....some about America and our history, a few about a special event which says something about America and our people. Each page of the calendar features a rose....the national flower of America.  The songs are all songs that were popular with the soldiers during the Viet Nam conflict.....in the mid to late 60's.

A few months ago I posted material in relationship to Martin Luther King, Jr. He had a dream to free his people....ultimately, for all nations to enjoy freedom. I thought of Martin Luther King, Jr's famous words...."I have a dream" ....when I read the following quote by Franklin Delano Roosevelt...."In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression--everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way--everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want--which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants--everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear--which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor--anywhere in the world." This still seems to be a dream which can ever only be realized by wonderful "giving" people who are willing to serve. Roosevelt also said "Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them." 

On January 20,2001, President George W. Bush said this of the American people in his inaugural address...."We have a place, all of us, in a long story...The story of a slave-holding society that became a servant of freedom...It is the American story; a story of flawed and fallible people, united across the generations by grand and enduring ideals."

"a servant of freedom"....that's us :-) 

Again, in the words of Charles Kingsley, man is free to do "what he likes"....he is also free to do "what he ought."

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt made this statement in his radio address to America after the bombing of Pearl Harbor...."Every single man, woman, and child is a partner in the most tremendous undertaking of our American history. We must share together the bad news and the good news, the defeats and the victories the changing fortunes of war.....Every citizen, in every walk of life, shares this same responsibility. The lives of our soldiers and sailors-the whole future of this Nation- depend upon the manner in which each and every one of us fulfills his obligation to our country....It is not a sacrifice for any man, old or young, to be in the Army or the Navy of the United States. Rather is it a privilege....."

What So Proudly We Hail    
Taps    Statue of Liberty    
Star Spangled Banner, The   
Senator John McCain    
Rose, The     Respect the Flag 
Radio Address to the Nation     Patriotism 
Our Flag....Pledge of Allegiance     Our Flag
Never Stood So Tall     Letter from a US Navy Ensign    
Leo's World     It Was in Your Eyes     I Am An American Sailor
God Bless America     George Washington's Vision
From Fear to Hope and Back Again     Flag Waving Cowboys    
First Independence Day, The     Eagle, The     Declaration of Independence, The     
Critical Component of Victory, The     Boys of Iwo Jima, The    Betsy Ross and Our Flag 
American GI, The  
American Flag....Red Skelton 
America the Beautiful

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