On Memorial Day

A lot of people died to make it possible for me to post this.  Not specifically, of course, but, as the title says, it's Memorial Day, and many patriots gave their future, fortune or lives fighting to protect these freedoms we now take for granted.  One of those is the freedom to say whatever I want without fear of reprisal from government.  

More accurately, it's the freedom to say whatever you want, so long as you don't lie with the intent to defraud or defame anyone in doing so.  It's codified in the very First Amendment to the Constitution, a part of the Bill of Rights, which the individual States required before ratifying it:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or preventing the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

An honest assessment of the current respect for this document leaves a bit lacking.  The government is full of life-long politicians and lawyers whose full-time occupation is finding loopholes to further usurp the rights of the taxpayer, funded by the taxpayer.  Most don't care, as long as they have access to the latest pop-culture thing.

That's not the point of today, however.  Today, no matter who you are, if you are able to open your mouth and say what you want in your country, you owe a debt to the people who gave their lives for that.  Remember them well, or you'll only have yourself to blame when you lose that freedom.