Freedom’s Price

“What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value. 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.”

A great quote from Thomas Paine, but what does it mean? It means that as valuable as freedom is, why should we expect it to be given to us? Why should we expect it to be preserved for us? Why should we expect it to be passed on to our children for us? The answer is - we shouldn’t.

Freedom’s price is high. It comes at the cost of civil war, World war, A life threatening trek across the sea, An escape to northern “free states.”

We’ve all heard that freedom isn’t free. Today, more than ever we see that. Freedom can’t be given to a nation that doesn’t want it and won’t fight for it. We see it in the middle-east. We see it in the United States.

In the middle-east, we can topple a dictator. But it is the people of a nation who must want freedom so badly that they are willing to pay that magnificent price for it.

In the United States we are seeing a similar thing. As our freedoms are slowly peeled away, what price are we willing to pay to get them back?

Another great quote comes from Ronald Reagan. “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

That is our price. We must teach our children and grandchildren. That needs to come in the form of conversations and actions. They need to see what price we are willing to pay for ours and their freedom. Engage with your local government. Engage with your school board. Talk about the principles of freedom often. Ask yourself this: “What have I given up to earn this celestial article?”

Let’s pay this price now, before the price goes up.