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American Freedom and democracy are fragile. President Reagan once said that it is never more than one generation away from extinction. In America today, there is nothing that could be more accurate than that message. We no longer teach our young in our public schools, the terror that comes with the loss of freedom. Instead, our kids are being preached to and indoctrinated into a world that they have never witnessed.  

Growing up throughout the 50’s and 60’s, ads were published telling Americans what communist dictatorship was all about. There was something called “The Iron Curtain”. Behind that curtain was a place where free thinking and free speech was met with a hammer and cycle, mostly used to cut the head off anyone or any organization that threatened the elite and the dictators chosen by them. Freedom gave way to the absolute slavery of those behind that curtain. And nothing could be done outside radio broadcasts to give those captured there hope.

It was called “Radio Free Europe” – and those who listened had to do it secretly or risk losing their life.  Again, that subject is not discussed with our young and the lessons learned from it are no longer taught in our schools. Strength in American Democracy is hidden and replaced with talk about how much our young should hate our own history. We haven’t been perfect in the making or our Republic. But what we have is a system that recognizes our failures, a system that allows us to openly discuss the flaws that we experienced along the path we’ve taken.  And most of all, we have a system that allows us to correct our mistakes – peacefully, without the terror of civil war. 

We are a beacon of hope for those in our world who suffer under self-centered and self-serving dictatorships. If we do not take the time to teach our young that our Republic and the freedom it gives us is valuable beyond anything humanly measurable, the freedom and the blessings it brings will be taken from us.    

Pete Kapuscinski
Dillwyn