Why Should We Defend Liberty?

             The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday is the call to battle attempts to destroy American liberties. Americans in colonial times battled Great Britain to gain liberty, and Americans today must fight against the Left’s “attempts to restrict our liberties, destroy our culture, and manipulate our society using the imperious power of the government.

            Patrick Henry gave his famous “Give me liberty, or give me death” speech in St. John’s Church, in Richmond, Virginia, on March 23, 1775. Henry was speaking out against British rule over the American colonies, and his words inspired American soldiers and people around the world at later times.

            Carson Holloway shared several examples of other people who spoke out against their governments. His first example is “the brave protesters who gathered in Tiananmen Square in 1989 to take on the despotic, tyrannical Chinese government.” We know that the Chinese government has only gotten worse, but the bravery of those protesters must be honored. Holloway reported that “Many of those Chinese protesters carried signs quoting Henry’s words over 200 years after he appeared at St. John’s Church on March 23, 17775, during the second Virginia convention.” 

The first Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in October of 1774, the British government had imposed a series of taxes and restrictions on Americans, including the Stamp Act, Sugar Act, Townshend Acts, and Intolerable Acts, which the colonists believed violated their rights and their idea of self-government. These acts led to many acts of defiance, including the Boston Tea Party on Dec. 16, 1773, which resulted in the British navy closing Boston as a port and blockading it in March 1774.

            Americans today live lives of freedom because of the bravery of colonists, such as Patrick Henry and other patriots who risked life, liberty, and property to fight against Great Britain. Even as we enjoy the blessings of liberty, we must remember that the fight for freedom conditions. Today we battle against the Left and the socialists in America who desire to destroy our government. We must keep our eyes and ears open to see and hear. We should also remember the words of President Ronald Reagan about protecting freedom. 

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.