The “Up with People” touring singing groups were popular when we grew up in the sixties. One of their songs, probably simply subtitled “Freedom Isn’t Free,” still quickly comes to mind when we see or read about anti-American protests. The chorus said, “Freedom isn’t free, freedom isn’t free. You’ve got to pay the price, you’ve got to sacrifice for your liberty.”
There were anti-American protests back in the sixties, too, but the protests were usually in Russia, China, or Cuba, not in American cities on American streets led by American citizens. We had Americans hating America, then, too. We heard their shouts and saw their hatred for America and what she stands for, but that hatred was not the real America, and it did not last long.
Americans in the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s understood the reality of sacrificing for freedom, because they lived through World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Sue’s dad fought next to other scared 21-year-olds in the snow near Bastogne in December 1944. We now call it the Battle of the Bulge; Dad called it “Awful.” Roger’s dad served aboard ships in the Pacific during several wars, always fighting for freedom for his wife and young sons. Freedom isn’t free. Those Soldiers and Sailors – and their families – paid the price for liberty.
