What Price for Freedom?
“Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.” – Thomas Paine, The American Crisis
No celebration comes without cost, and our annual celebration of American Independence is no different. Its cost can be seen in rows of marble in places like the Punchbowl in Hawaii, at Colleville-sur-Mer overlooking the Normandy beaches, on Arlington’s rolling hills, and outside a small Pennsylvania town where a simple country lawyer charged every succeeding American to live lives worthy of such sacrifice.
Each Fourth of July, we celebrate the anniversary of our nation’s birth. 235 years ago our forefathers founded a nation based on a simple yet radical idea that all of us were equal, with freedom and liberty as our birthrights. To achieve such a nation, they were willing to risk all they held dear. As Jefferson wrote, they pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. For more than two centuries, millions of American men and women of all races, ethnicities, creeds, political ideology – and sexual orientation and gender identity too – have sacrificed to ensure that the founders’ vision endured.
Over my mantle hangs a sword, given to me by my father’s Disabled American Veterans post upon my commissioning. It rests between copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and above a statue of justice. I once thought that I would spend my entire adult life wielding that sword in defense of the values embodied in those sacred documents. Little did I know that my most valuable service to America would come in sacrificing my naval career and wielding words as an advocate for a repeal of DADT and the ability of LGBT Americans to serve and enjoy the privileges and obligations of full and equal citizenship guaranteed by those same documents. Who knew that I would become a more zealous defender of freedom by losing a measure of mine when I accepted my gender identity and sexual orientation?
On this Fourth of July, I proudly stand here free and say, “I am an American.” But I know that freedom is not free. It takes the work of many people over generations to nurture, preserve and defend. I am blessed to be able to say I have stood, and that I continue to stand, in the company of dedicated patriots. My military service, ten years in uniform, countless duty days, and three deployments (including one expeditionary campaign and one war) were but a down payment. As an LGBT American, I continue to fight every day to ensure that our American reality matches our ideals for our community and for all who believe in freedom, liberty and equality. I dare anyone to tell me I am less worthy or that I should accept second-class citizenship. I know that I have lived up to Lincoln’s challenge and the price I have paid for my freedom.
What price are you willing to pay?
07-03-11 By Paula M. Neira, LT, USNR (1985-1991), Annapolis graduate (1985) |
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