This morning, Derya leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek and as I pulled away she pulled me close and gave me a second kiss and told me. “Dad, I love you.” As she wrapped her arms around me and smiled at me.
Today marks the 242 years of Freedom for America, 12 years that we’ve been a family – officially -and 1,079 days of FREEDOM for DERYA! This time three years ago a certain place held Derya in captivity. They were treating her with the wrong medications and were not willing to alter their opinion, their diagnosis or consider that they were wrong – despite the mountains of evidence proving they were.
Today has always been a special day for me as someone whose steeped in history as much as I have been. Who has come to understand the nuances and the patchwork of history; I have drawn conclusions and then reworked those conclusions and revisited them again. We don’t have to re-interpret history to understand the importance of the Declaration of Independence and Freedom that was done on this date 242. However, we do have to recognize how easy it has become to lose that freedom. Please don’t think that this is a political statement directed at politics; there’s no meant condemnation towards modern politics.
Ben Franklin said it best: “It’s a Republic if you can keep it.” – Let me paraphrase then – It’s FREEDOM! If you can keep it! Hold onto your loved ones. TO quote Ronald Reagan – “FREEDOM IS A FRAGILE THING AND NEVER MORE THAN ONE GENERATION AWAY FROM EXTINCTION!”