Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death

Recently, I have been thinking about life…and death. My father passed away back in August of this year, and it has shaken me to my core. It has made me wonder a lot about life and death. My father’s struggle in this life is over. He served his country. He raised a family. He stayed married to the same woman for over 54 years, and yet, this man, this Vietnam Veteran, this hero, still passed away.

I have wondered since his death if he now has it made, because there is no more fighting for his country or his family. He is at peace. But then I wonder is he better off than the rest of us who are still living?

Sure, I believe in Heaven and God and that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. But it makes me wonder if all of this struggle, all of this fighting, is worth it in the end since we all will end up in the ground. None of us will make it out of this life alive.

But then I remember all that my father did. He served his nation in the military, and he did whatever that nation asked of him. For 21 years, he followed orders, braved and cheated death, and raised a family that was happy, healthy, and safe.

That is what life is all about. It is about the struggles. The battles. The losses. The wins. Even the deaths that we endure. We all think about death. We all think about life. We all wonder if this struggle is worth the fight. Should we just lie down and die and be done with it all?

If my father could come back and answer that question, I know what his one-word answer would be. NO! Yes, life is a struggle. It is a battle, and that battle never ends. But it’s a battle we must all wage, and it’s a battle we must win.

This life that we live is the foundation of the lives of those who have yet to live. What we do today will determine the lives of those yet to live. Will they enter the world free and in full liberty, or will they be born into a world of oppression, desolation, and despair?

That is only a choice that the living can make. Those who have gone before us made a decision. We live in freedom and liberty in this country because of what they did before we were born. So I ask you, what are you doing to ensure that what your forefathers gave you is passed down to your posterity?

I am standing in the gap. I am fighting the good fight.  I am honoring all of those who came before me by fighting to preserve and improve upon what they left me. I intend to pass on what was passed to me to my posterity. I will not shirk from the fight. I will not cower from the battle. I will not hide from anyone who wishes to do me, my family, and my nation harm.

You see, someday I will be laid to rest as my father was. He could leave this life knowing that he did what he could to preserve the freedom that was given and afforded him. He taught me that the fight is always worth it.

None of us are getting out of this life alive. But I have to ask, are you really living or are you just breathing and eating? Yes, there is a difference. If you are just breathing and eating, then you are already dead. Someone once said that most men are dead; it just takes 70 years or so to bury them.

I am not one of them. I choose to live, to fight, to preserve, and to pass down what was given to me. I am alive. I love life. But I will lay down that life to protect the freedom, the liberty, the God-given right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, for my posterity.

If I don’t do that, then I am already dead and that is no way to honor those that came before us.  That is no way to honor God Almighty.

That is no way to live. Give me liberty, or give me death.

Liberty is life and Life is Liberty. I choose LIFE.

How about you?

Rod Eccles is the host of the nationally syndicated radio show, “The Rod Eccles Show.” He is the coolest, most politically incorrect conservative black man on the planet, and he is being dubbed the new black Rush Limbaugh of our time. He is considered to be one of the leading voices in the conservative movement. This year he published his first book, “The Conservative ECCLESiastes: Logic and Wisdom from the Coolest, Most Politically Incorrect, Conservative Black Man on the Planet.” Eccles has been added to the list of Top Talk Conservative Radio Show Hosts. He also travels around the country making key note speeches to Tea Party and Republican organizations to inspire and educate the people of the greatness of America. For more information please visit his website at rodeccles.net.

The views expressed in opinion articles are solely those of the author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Black Community News.