Reflecting on Freedom
By: Dr. Jeff Fuller
We so easily take freedom for granted.
Enjoying so much, yet so easily we do not reflect or pay
attention to those things which allow us the privileges we have. I sit here today and type out this manuscript
without fear of retribution or governmental retaliation. Sure, someone may take what I have written
with some negative response and may even criticize my writing, but I will not
be arrested or tried for my thoughts and practice. I am free to speak, free to write, free to
have an opinion and free to live in a country where those are cherished.
Freedom is not free. While
it seems to be an old statement, used and abused; it is still so very true:
freedom is not free. There was and is a
cost to freedom. We have freedom because
someone paid for it and we retain it because someone continues to pay the
price-a huge price. We still have troops
in foreign countries fighting for the rights of freedom. They are men and women serving in harm’s way
who have left families and occupations behind for the ability to serve their
fellow man. It has always been that way
and always will be that way; as long as there is a cause we will have freedom
fighters who answer the call.
History is full of examples.
Think about the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Those radical, free thinking men stood in
that room and with quill in hand signed as it were their own death
warrant. As they bent to apply their
signatures to the parchment, they were convinced that should the new republic
fail in her battle for independence they all would be tried for treason and
lose their fortunes and their very lives.
But, they also had a faith in a God who would not fail and if He be the
one leading them they would be in the right and the crown would be in the
wrong.
Jodi McDade writes:
“These men had the courage to stand up to the tyranny of a
monarch thousands of miles away who controlled the lives of the people of the
colonies known as America. The people
had no rights except those granted by the Crown of England, and they had no
voice in the laws they were to live by.
These heroic men…escaped from Europe to come to a new world where they
could have the freedom to choose their religion rather than being forced into
one religion chosen by the king.”
Think about George Washington. In the French and Indian clashes he saw his
fair share of success and failure. As a
major at the head of a force of militia he constructed Fort Necessity south of
the French Fort Duquesne (doo-KAYN).
Fort Duquesne was situated at the strategic point where the Monongahela
and Allegheny Rivers join to form the Ohio River, which is the present site of
Pittsburgh. A small force of French and
Indians defeated Washington in a battle which was fought at Fort Necessity on
July 4, 1754. With the colonies failing
to unite, but yet George Washington and the Virginia militia fought form the
cover of trees and rocks when the British Redcoats and a strong force of
Virginia militia advanced on the French Fort-Braddock and 63 of 89 officers
were killed. This same man, brave and
strong, stood with the Continental Army as Commander-in-Chief, served with
dignity during the Revolutionary War, was at the Constitutional Convention and
ratification. Elected as President and
then later recalled for service to the country he loved and cherished.
Think of the troops of men who stormed the shores in hopes
of freedom. It was to be the largest
invasion of its kind to date, beginning on June 6, 1944. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme
commander of the Allied Forces gave the signal to begin Operation
Overlord. This was the long awaited
invasion of France involving more than 170,000 soldiers, thousands of planes
and ships, and tons of equipment. The
target was the Normandy coast of France.
The weather was terrible as a storm raged at sea. Rain was falling, and Eisenhower has already
delayed the invasion by a day and despite the weather, he gave the signal and
D-Day began. The first Allied soldiers
to hit Normandy were the “pathfinders.”
These men would parachute in, mark landing zones for paratroopers as
they placed marker lights and radar beacons.
Yet, they were met with heavy ground fire and only a third landed near
their targets. As such, few markers were
in place when the first paratroopers jumped and resulted in many of them not
finding the assigned locations. Some
13,000 landed safely, others the Germans shit before they reached the ground. With D-Day involving a large Allied fleet,
the battleship guns with 14-inch shells and overhead planes bombed the coastal
areas. Working together were British,
American, Canadian and free French soldiers.
The Americans had two beaches as their goals and they were code-named
“Omaha” and “Utah.” The Germans had
fortified Omaha beach with concrete and steel posts which jutted from the
sands, designed to explode if a landing craft hit them. Also there was barbed wire strung between
posts making the defense of the beach deadly.
Troops remembered the landing as “Bloody Omaha.” The men who landed on Utah beach were a
little bit luckier as they landed about a mile south of their intended target
and found that the point was only lightly defended. Tanks, trucks, and supplies went ashore
almost without opposition. While 3,000
men died at Omaha beach, fewer than 200 died at Utah beach. By nightfall, D-Day was over and histories
largest invasion was a success. There
were 155,000 Allied soldiers in Normandy, they had freed 80 miles of French
territory and in the months to come Allied forces would sweep toward Germany.
Think of those brave armed forces who served in Desert
Storm. For a look at this conflict, called by some as a “policing action” we
need to take a look at the entire picture for a moment.
At the request of
the Kuwaitis, Kuwait had become a British Protectorate in 1889. British forces
protected the area until 1961. Kuwait was a part of Iraq until 1923, when
borders were drawn. On June 19, 1961, British protection ended and Kuwait
joined the Arab League. Iraq objected strongly and claimed that Kuwait was part
of their territory. Kuwait formed its own constitution on January 1963.
Accordingly, the emir held the executive power, organized with a group of
ministers. By January 23, a national assembly was elected. By October, 1963,
Iraq gave up its claim on Kuwait. Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein wanted to
regain that lost land for Iraq, and so he invaded.
Leading
up to war
On
August 2, 1990, Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait. Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had been
making threats against Kuwait for some time, but his actual invasion caught
most of the world by surprise. The magnitude of the invasion also was a
surprise. Those who had expected an attack, such as the commander of U.S.
Central Command, Norman Schwarzkopf, expected a limited attack to seize Kuwaiti
oil fields. Instead, within a number of hours, Iraqi forces had seized downtown
Kuwait City and were headed south toward the Saudi Arabia border.
Word of
the Iraqi attack reached Washington, D.C., as Iraqi forces assembled at the Saudi
border. The Pentagon had plans in place to aid the Saudis, and U.S. forces went
on standby for the Saudis' request. Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney and
General Schwarzkopf met with King Fahd of Saudi Arabia to brief him on the
plans, which he approved. Within minutes of the meeting, orders were issued,
and thus began the largest buildup of American forces since the Vietnam War. Within a short period, members of the
82nd Airborne Division, as well as 300 combat aircraft, were headed for Saudi
Arabia.
A
deadline set for Saddam Hussein
By the
end of September 1990, there were nearly 200,000 American personnel in Saudi
Arabia — enough to repel any Iraqi attack.
The
initial plan to drive Iraqi forces from Kuwait called for a direct offensive
aimed at Kuwait City; but Schwarzkopf and other American commanders thought
that the risk was too great against heavily armed, well-entrenched defenders.
Instead, they called for additional troops to prepare for the largest military
cleanup ever seen.
President
Bush (with Saudi approval) ordered an additional
140,000 soldiers, including the Third Armored Division
with its Abrams M1A tanks. During that period, reinforcements from numerous
other nations arrived, including British, French, Egyptian and even Syrian
forces. On November 29, the UN Security Council passed a resolution authorizing
the use of force if Iraq did not withdraw from Kuwait by January 15.
Superior
U.S. air power
On the
morning of January 16, 1991, Allied forces began the first phase of Desert
Storm, also known as Desert Shield. American forces first destroyed Iraqi
border radar stations, then other key elements of the Iraqi anti-aircraft
network; lastly, they began to bomb key targets in downtown Iraq, including the
presidential palace, communication centers, and power stations. The Allied
forces lost only two aircraft during the attacks. The assault continued day and
night.
Those
initial air attacks constituted the first time the American military witnessed
how their new arsenal performed in combat conditions. With such ground systems
as the M1A1 Abrams missile and the MIM-104 Patriot missile, the Iraq military
had little opportunity to defend themselves. Also, such other groundbreaking
technology as the Global Positioning System (GPS), helped to pinpoint hits by
the Tomahawk missile and other weapons.
The
damage done by U.S. air attacks was devastating to Saddam's vaunted Republican
Guard. The following U.S. aircraft left "a big hurt" on the enemy
during the war: AH-64 Apache helicopters, B-52 Stratofortress bombers, E-3
AWACS surveillance aircraft, F-117A Stealth fighters, E-8C JSTARS radar command
posts, and the RPVs (drones).
Overall, the
coalition air campaign (consisting mostly of U.S. pilots) accumulated a total
of 109,876 sorties over the 43-day air war — averaging 2,555 sorties per day.
Of those, more than 27,000 sorties struck enemy Scuds, airfields, air defenses,
electrical power, biological and chemical weapons caches, headquarters, intelligence
assets, communications, the Iraqi army, and oil refineries.
At 3
a.m on January 17, the Iraqis fired seven Scud missiles at Israel. Israelis
were awaiting the Scuds with gas masks on, thanks to Saddam's previous threats
to burn half of Israel with chemical weapons. As it turned out, the Scuds bore
only conventional warheads, but their terror value was high. To avoid a wider
war, U.S. officials pleaded with Israeli officials to not respond to the Scud
attacks. The Israelis agreed because the Americans promised to target all Scud
missile sites and knock them out.
On
January 29, following two weeks of punishing coalition air assaults, the Iraqis
mounted their one and only attack subsequent to the invasion at the Battle of Khafji. The Iraqi Fifth Mechanized Division attacked
south, capturing the Saudi town of Al Khafji eight miles south of the Kuwaiti
border. The Iraqis overran the first Saudi force that attempted a counterattack
and, despite massive American air attacks, they held on to the town through the
day and night. The next day was a different story, however, when Saudis
recaptured the town, forcing the remaining Iraqis to flee to the Kuwaiti
border.
Operation
Desert Sabre
After a
38-day air campaign, Operation Desert Sabre, a massive ground attack, was
launched by Americans and the coalition into both Iraq and Kuwait.
Day
One ground attack. On
February 24th at 4 a.m., Allied troops led by U.S. Marines crossed the border into Iraq. During the
days before the attack, Iraqi troops had been subjected to merciless air
attacks; every imaginable target was destroyed with accuracy.
The
Allied offensive targeted three major offensive venues: the first aimed at
Kuwait City, the second to the west aimed at the Iraqi flank, and the final one
far to the west, beyond the major Iraqi lines that would totally outflank Iraqi
lines. In the first day of the war the marines advanced halfway to Kuwait City
and the western advances proceeded without difficulty — while capturing
thousands of Iraqi deserters. The first day of ground fighting resulted in
minimal American casualties.
Day
Two ground attack. As Day
Two approached, an Iraqi Scud missile destroyed the U.S. barracks in Dhahran,
killing 28 U.S. soldiers. With morale nevertheless high, American troops
advanced on all fronts. The marines approached Kuwait City, while the western
flank began to cut off the Iraqi Army's retreat route.
Coalition casualties for Day Two were, once again, light.
Day
Three ground attack Day
Three dawned on the largest tank battle in history. The American armored forces
engaged the tank forces of the Iraqi Republican guard. Like shooting fish in a
barrel, the American tanks destroyed the Iraqi heavy armor without losing a single tank.
On
February 26th, Iraqi troops began to retreat from
Kuwait while setting fire to an estimated 700 Kuwaiti oil wells. A long convoy
of Iraqi troops, as well as Iraqi and Palestinian civilians, formed along the
main Iraq-Kuwait highway. That convoy was bombed so relentlessly by the Allies
that it came to be known as the "Highway of Death." One hundred hours
after the ground campaign began, President Bush declared a cease-fire —
declaring the liberation of Kuwait on February 27, 1991.
Postwar
epilogue
On
April 5th, 1991, President Bush announced that U.S. relief supply airdrops
would be made to Kurdish refugees in Turkey and northern Iraq. After Iraq
issued its acceptance of a cease-fire, Task Force Provide Comfort was formed
and deployed to assist the Kurds.
The
U.S. transport delivered some 72,000 pounds of supplies in the first six
Operation Provide Comfort missions. By April 20, the construction of the first
Provide Comfort tent city began near Zakhu, Iraq. By war's end, U.S. forces
released 71,204 Iraqi prisoners to Saudi control.
U.S.
casualties
Army: 98 battle;
105 nonbattle
Navy: six battle; eight nonbattle
Marines: 24 battle; 26 nonbattle
Air Force: 20 battle; six nonbattle.
Navy: six battle; eight nonbattle
Marines: 24 battle; 26 nonbattle
Air Force: 20 battle; six nonbattle.
Resulting
in 148 U.S. battle deaths, and 145 nonbattle deaths, including 15 women.
Wounded in action: 467.
Iraqi
casualties
Of Iraq's
545,000 troops in the Kuwait theater of operations, an estimated 100,000 were
killed, and
300,000 were wounded.
300,000 were wounded.
“I led
my country in confrontation by an aggression launched by 33 countries led by
U.S., which waged war against Iraq, the Iraqis' confrontation of which is
called by Arabs and Iraqis as the Battle of Battles (Um Al-Ma’arik), where Iraq
stood fast against the invasion, maintaining its sovereignty and political
system.”
- Saddam Hussein's journal.
- Saddam Hussein's journal.
This conflict is what led us to fighting terrorism both on
our own soil, with the advent of 9-11 and in countries where terror had been a
way to life for so very long.
Think of the politicians who have stood and do stand strong
and long for freedom. Going way back in
history we are told that men such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abe
Lincoln and John Hancock all made freedom as priority in their lives. As a move through history we see others who
have come along and boosted freedom in come form or fashion, such as M.L. King,
President George Bush, Ronald Reagan and others who have served within local,
state and national offices. Most
recently the Supreme Court bolstered the fight for freedom.
John Jansen posted this blog on June 30, 2014 titled “Huge
Supreme Court Victory for Religious Freedom in Hobby Lobby Case.” Jansen wrote:
“The U.S. Supreme Court issued a stunning decision today
affirming the religious freedom rights of business owners, ruling in a 5-4
decision ruling that ‘closely held corporations’ cannot be forced by the
Obamacare HHS Mandate to provide contraception, sterilization, and
abortion-causing drugs to their employees. In its opinion the Court stated that
the federal government failed to demonstrate that forcing private corporations
to provide these drugs and procedures to employees—even if their owners have
strong conscientious objections to them—is the ‘least restrictive means’ of
providing free access to them. The decision in these cases, Sebelius v. Hobby
Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties v. Sebelius, was the very last decision
issued by the Court this term, and it was surely the most anticipated decision
all year. …it’s hard to underestimate the significance of this ruling affirming
the First Amendment rights of business owners.
‘This ruling in favor of Hobby Lobby is a victory for all who cherish
religious freedom,’ said Eric Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life
Action League and one of the national directors of the Stand Up for Religious
Freedom rallies. ‘The movement that began with hundreds of protest rallies
outside federal court buildings has just won a great victory inside the
nation’s highest court.’ But the
struggle to safeguard religious freedom is far from over, Scheidler notes. ‘The
court will soon be reviewing other challenges to the HHS Mandate and other
provisions of Obamacare that trample religious liberty and freedom of
conscience. Today’s victory is a tremendous encouragement as these battles
continue.’”
Our freedom becomes a joke because of our casual and
uninterested approach to the freedoms we have here in America. Voter turnout in each county is low and many
of those registered chose to follow the status quo instead of reading and
learning about each candidate who wants to serve. Presidential elections have become more of a
popularity race or who can raise the most money, instead of an honest election
by the Electoral College. Congressmen
and women are elected by a small minority with many of them continuing to serve
without any accountability of the people.
We are doomed if this cycle continues abated.
Others around us look on us and think, if not say aloud,
“Why would we want what they have?” They
are actually distressed when they see what we have, the blessings that have
come to us and yet, we are more likely to follow the flow of history and not
change the course of history.
We were once a great nation, a country admired by others and
yet we seem to become more of an example of apathy. A laughing stock, decried as a nation which
is in more dead than alive. Once
proclaimed as a shining light we have allowed darkness to cloud the light. Others see it and wonder what might become of
this great nation.
While America sleeps, lulled into acceptance of whatever
bodes well with the masses, our freedoms are being eroded, erased and replaced
by things foreign to the intent of the original thoughts and intents of the
Freedom Fighters of 238 years ago.
Oh my, wake up, America!
It is time we got on our knees and hit our feet and proclaimed freedom
from sea to shining sea.
Our freedom is based on a firm foundation. It has within the core the stones of Morality,
Education, Law and Faith.
This is basically nothing more than a biblical worldview.
“Know ye not that ye
are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If
any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God
is holy, which temple ye are.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17 KJV)
When we turn to God we will find true freedom. The only true and abiding freedom is found in
Jesus Christ. By placing Him as first in
our life, giving Him all that are and every hope to be, and trusting His
leadership we will be free. Turn in the
pages of the Word of God and see this is truth.
It is a proven fact that a nation which exalts God, will be
a nation God blesses. Over and over
throughout the pages of the Old Testament we see that God is kind and giving to
that nation which will stand for Him, even in the midst of sure defeat. David wrote, “Happy is the nation
whose God is Yahweh— the people He has chosen to be
His own possession!” (Psalm 33:12 HCSB)
When He is sought, surrendered to and solely the only way
for hope and life, blessings are sure to come.
We know this to be true in our own lives. God said, “[If] My people who are called by
My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil
ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.”
(2 Chronicles 7:14 HCSB)
When we place Him as the center of our lives, we are truly
at peace. Solomon gave wise counsel to
his son and it still rings true in the life of the Christian in the 21st
Century:
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and
do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all
your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths. Don’t
consider yourself to be wise; fear the LORD and turn away from evil. This will be
healing for your body and strengthening for your bones.” (Proverbs
3:5-8 HCSB)
We must also remember He works all things to His own
pleasure. (Romans 8:28) He will reveal His will and we are to submit
to His purposes for our lives. This we
were created for.
The National Monument of the Forefathers stands proudly in
Plymouth, Massachusetts. It is a statue
of greatness as it commemorates the Pilgrims planting the colony of Plymouth
and the contribution they made to the great nation at large. It is an eighty-one-foot-tall structure made
of granite which provides a matrix for how a free society is built on the
Biblical ideals and worldviews, as was accomplished by these earlier settlers.
Matrix: “Something within which something else develops,
originates, or takes shape; a mold or a die.” (Webster)
“The monument is composed of numerous statues; the more
prominent is the heroic figure of Faith, standing with her right hand pointed
to the heavens and the other holding a Bible.
At the base of the pedestal where Faith stands are four seated statues
representing Morality, Law, Education, and Liberty-emblems of the principles
upon which the Pilgrims built their Commonwealth, each also having a symbol
referring to the Bible that Faith possesses.
Flanking these allegorical figures are smaller engravings representing
more components of the template of liberty.”
It is said there are many engravings upon the monument,
containing quotes from various sources.
One is that of Governor William Bradford of Plymouth Plantation. It speaks to the truth that these Pilgrims
were the “Parents of Our Republic.” The quote
is:
“Thus out of small beginnings greater things have been
produced by His hand that made all things of nothing and gives being to all
things that are and as one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here
kindled hath shone unto many, yea in some sort to our whole nation; let the
name of Jehovah have all praise.”
David Barton wrote:
“The monument provides is a matrix of liberty based upon a
worldview of our forefathers. Their
ideas gave birth to the most free, prosperous, virtuous, and just nation the
world has ever seen. If we apply these
principles today and build according to the successful pattern, we can expect
the same results.”
George Washington is said to have commented, “It is
impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and a Bible.”
Faith is the basic makeup of the foundation. Interlaced within the foundation are the principles
of morality, law and education. When we
examine all that has transpired we see that faith is the basic tenant, a faith
in some authority in order to determine what is considered correct or lawful
behavior. That authority being the Bible
and the God of Creation. All else has
grown out of that basic tenant. We have
the Declaration of Independence, the laws of the land, the principle of
education, science, medicine and everything else that we have because under the
surface is faith and faith is God, the Bible, Truth.
It was Benjamin Rush, one of the signers of the Declaration
of Independence and Father of Medicine in America who said:
“Christianity is the only true and perfect religion…As
mankind adopts its principles and obeys it precepts, they will be wise and
happy.”
God Bless America!
Research:
The Founders Bible; David Barton; Shiloh Road
Publishers: Newbury Park, CA; 2012
Rise of the American Nation; Harcourt, Brace
& World: Atlanta, GA; 1961
World History; AGS: Circle Pines, MN; 2001
The Coosa County News; July 4, 2014; Page 6
