by Judith Richards

Created on: May 18, 2008

"..in the land of the free and the home of the brave." As I sang these final words of the "Star Spangled Banner" I stopped to think. Are we still the home of the brave? It was the brave that purchased our freedom with their lives and it is the brave today that fight to preserve that freedom. Are we in danger of losing freedoms in the future because our young people are less courageous than they were three decades ago? Will our country decline as our young people become self-indulgent on cell phones, iPods and video games, losing all sense of their responsibilities as citizens?

COURAGE YESTERDAY AND TODAY
The last big war in the 70s was the Vietnam War which was supported by volunteers and a draft. If you were drafted, you had no choice but to go when your number was picked or risk incarceration by leaving the country. It took courage to go and courage not to go.

Today there is no draft to support our fighting in the Iraq war. We ask our young people to have the courage to volunteer. Those in our armed forces have found the courage to make the decision to go and if necessary sacrifice their lives for their country. There is no draft to make them go. They volunteer. They are very courageous.

COURAGE FOR CIVIC RESPONSIBLITY
At a recent convention I listened to several high school senior girls discuss their fundraising and volunteer work in their schools and communities. These young women run large fund raisers for charities, campaigns for safe ingredients in products, and service clubs in their communities and schools. They spoke with strong conviction and belief in what they were doing. They have the courage to step up and do what needs to be done. In my mind they are courageous.

MISSING COURAGE
True, there are those young people today who bury their heads in the video game of the day or the constant text messages and cell phone calls of the day. They are strung out on their iPods, cut off from the happenings of the world today and the people around them. They don't understand, nor care to understand, the responsibility of citizenship and what it means to be free. Little do they realize how much can be lost if we all stand back and do not find the courage to fight for our freedom and take a stand for what's best for our county.

HONOR THE COURAGEOUS
Honor the young people that serve in time of war and those that step up to work for a better country for all citizens. I don't believe that our young people are any less courageous than they were three decades ago. Just as in past decades, the brave ones are there; you just have to look for them. They know what it takes to change things, to make a difference and to fight to preserve our freedom. They have the courage to make the sacrifices and put in the hard work required. They deserve our support and respect, for they are truly courageous.

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