Every generation inherits a solemn obligation. We are supposed to be the guardians of the noble sacrifices of those who came before us.

Their blood, sweat and tears were offered in defense of a principled nation — a union of people who hold individual freedom and civil liberty as virtues above all else. Tragically, we have dishonored what they fought so hard to create for us.

For 30-plus years, our government, our elected leaders, have been corrupted through the influence of money and power and have torn and stained the sacred fabric of this great nation. And we have allowed it to happen. We have forgotten that how we conduct ourselves is a demonstration of what we believe.

Justice is not served in secret courts or off-shore detention facilities. What is right and just should withstand the light of day. Our security as a union is not enhanced with covert monitoring of citizens; that runs contrary to the very principles that have bound us together.

Our government and its agencies should never be a political instrument to deter, suffocate or penalize an individual or group’s advocacy of freedom, yet we see the IRS affecting an open discussion.

We have shamed the principled sacrifices of our forefathers for the sake of convenience, and we are now prisoners in our own country. This is not about political affiliations; it is about the fundamental virtues of this unique union and what we honor and defend.

David Berry

Hallowell

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