What does freedom mean to you?

What comes to your mind when you think of the Fourth of July? What memories do you have? Doug remembers that, as a child, he decorated his bicycle with red, white and blue crepe paper strips strung between the spokes of the wheels. Kids still do that today, along with decorating wagons and even decorating their dogs. Then everyone marches along together in a parade. There are picnics with friends and family, concerts in the park and fireworks. Doug says, “Fireworks are a blast!” Fourth of July is a lot of fun!

Yet, there is a deeper meaning for the Fourth of July and we don’t always think about it. It goes back to July 4, 1776 when some courageous forefathers of ours dared to put their names on a piece of parchment that declared our independence from England. Since then brave men and women have been serving our country to help keep us safe and allow us to have freedom.

I (Lynn) am very proud of my father who served. You are probably proud of people you know who are serving our country in the military and people who have served. Some people have even sacrificed their lives so we can have freedom. Other times, soldiers were fortunate to come home safely but families still sacrificed by being apart from their loved ones.

Doug shares that when he hears the word “freedom” he thinks of the quote by Peter Marshall, “May we think of freedom not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right.” Doing what is right means living good values, showing respect for each other and honoring those who serve, and have served, our country.

We wanted to know what some veterans think so we went to ask them about their service and what freedom means to them.

We met Glenn Anderson who is the Commander of Chanhassen American Legion post 580. He served as a radar technician mechanic in the Army in Friedberg/Bad Nauheim, Germany from 1969 to 1971. When asked what freedom meant to him he answered, “In this country we have several freedoms – freedom of movement, freedom of religion, freedom of political choice and other freedoms – those are very important to me.”

Then we met Fred Bialczyk who served as First Lieutenant in several areas of Vietnam. He was in charge of eight Quad 50s in four locations. Freedom to him means, “I can protest if I want. I can go to the Freedom Bridge and have a sign and let people know what my opinion is without really being disagreeable. We can debate the issues and that’s what I think American freedom is all about.”

Erich Weidner was an infantry combat platoon leader/company commander in Vietnam. He shared. “I had forty to a hundred fifty guys and our job was to search and destroy – to find the enemy and eliminate them.” Erich is quite humble about his service even though he earned several medals including a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts. When asked what freedom and the Fourth of July means to him, he said, “It means that we enjoy life due to the efforts of many of our comrades in the Army and the (other) services and we are able to enjoy raising a family and having our opinions, whereas in other countries, that’s not possible – the government dictates to you. I’ve been to a number of countries and you can’t beat the United States. Freedom comes at a very high price for which many men and women have sacrificed their lives.”

We thanked each of these servicemen and told them that we are grateful for their service for our country. We want to thank all the people who have served and who are serving now. As we celebrate the Fourth of July holiday with activities, let us always remember those who made our freedom possible through their service. Let’s live our lives to honor them and make every day, not just the Fourth of July, a celebration of our precious freedom! What a gift!

Here’s a challenge: What does freedom mean to you? Sometimes it’s easy to take our freedom for granted. In the United States of America there are so many ways that we experience freedom every day. Take a few minutes and think about the freedoms that you have. Remember that these freedoms were paid for by the sacrifices of our service men and women. Thank those who have served and savor your freedom. We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Chanhassen residents Doug and Lynn Nodland are owners of The Balance Center. They can be contacted at WeCare@SharingLifesLessons.com

© Doug and Lynn Nodland 2017 Articles and videos may be shared in their entirety with attribution.