I am the mother of 3 children of which 2 are boys. They both stated as children that they wanted to be military. I didn’t deny them that desire. Neither qualified due to medical reasons. I did tell them regardless of their military acceptance or not, their contribution to this country could be in other forms. I encouraged them to vote as soon as they turned 18. I taught them that it was their duty to be informed and that it could hinge on one vote and it does matter. As their mother, I believed that my greatest duty is to teach them that freedom is never free: that it is such an honor that they were born and raised as an American. To dishonor any other person’s sacrifice for that freedom would be tantamount to treason in my eyes. I don’t know if I am right or wrong yet, as they are still young, and in truth, I may never know. What I do know is this; though I run free in this country…I run side by side with the spirits of so many of my people in the pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness for all and I will teach my children that.
