Who will cry for me when I’m gone?

Who will cry for me when I’m gone? These soldiers might have asked. But even their families are long gone from this earth and their cries can no longer be heard. All of those who have perished shared only one thing in common: they died to protect our freedom.  And that is why we’re here today. It is why we can talk openly about things, and even when we disagree, there is a measure of comfort in knowing that truth is only found when we have the freedom to tell the many sides of our story. For this is the essence of the American story: it is only in controversy that the truth emerges and sets us free.

Americans believe in Freedom. America is a nation that has always trusted in our democratic process. We the People have a long tradition of placing the fate of many into the hands of a few. As it should be. This is the way we want it to be. We trust that our leadership will do the right thing. And even if our leaders are misguided or fail to understand what the right thing is, they won’t get sidetracked for too long. We have this incredible mandate to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. So far, the U.S. Constitution has been an infallible rudder and ballast, the way to guide us back home to a place that is measured not by land, borders or boundaries, but by an indomitable spirit of America’s people. Americans speak their minds and never quit, not even when darkness sets in and steals light away from truth.

Freedom. Take a lesson from history. The soldiers who died to defend our freedom against tyranny and oppression, were of all religions, ethnicities, races, ages and gender.  Soldiers from all walks of life died protecting all of us, so not one American would be excluded from the inalienable right to be free. We owe it to our fallen heroes to fight for our own freedom, so their blood was not spilled in vain. I would say to their families: Dry your tears. Lift your head high. We will never scatter the ashes of our slain soldiers against the wind. We will hold them in our heart. Know they did not die in vain. We the people can still hear our fallen soldiers: Who will cry for me when I’m gone?