Today, July 4th, is my dog’s birthday. So, it’s only appropriate being born on this most patriotic, American holiday, she is named after the most sacred of all American principles, Liberty. And while “Liberty” is only 8-years-old, the ideal after which she is named, has endured and withstood not only time, but threats made against her, both domestic and abroad for over 230 years.
For most of us, liberty is synonymous with freedom, the epitome of liberty. Yet many of us have our own unique interpretations and definitions of an unalienable right that is our birthright as Americans. This in fact, mirrors the true essence of the freedom embodied in this constitutionally guaranteed ideal. The fact we are free to define liberty in any manner we see fit, staying within the boundaries of humanity and decency that has and will continue to defy tyrannical attacks upon it comes with a heavy price.
For me, the paradigm of liberty is both personal and professional. For so many reasons, “Liberty” came to represent a freedom I had gained eight years ago. I had earned the chance to pursue what so many us call the American dream. But my dream wasn’t about buying a house or starting a family, but the compulsion I felt to save a life and granting her freedom from what may have been an otherwise short life. And so it’s appropriate on so many levels that the freedom I gained within from the life I saved was born on the fourth of July.
The complexity of liberty is exhibited in the many freedoms in which it manifests itself. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, freedom of petition are just a few paragons of the liberty we live and defend every day as Americans. As a member of the media, one of the most important to me is freedom of the press, the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including published materials and various electronic or digital platforms of information dissemination. While such freedom mostly implies the absence of interference from an overreaching state, individual, or entity, its preservation, if necessary, may be sought through constitutional protection.
While our liberty has often come at a very high cost, many disrespect the lives of those lost defending this ideal by challenging or attacking the very freedoms it represents. The News Enterprise embodies this very freedom and will continue to do so in good faith, pursuing the truth at every corner and letting our readers decide. We are thoroughly committed to reporting on and delivering the news and information that affect the communities and thousands of readers we serve. We will continue to do so with the utmost in objectivity, journalistic ethics, and without interference from any individual, organization, or ulterior motive.
While we celebrate our independence today, we, the staff of the News Enterprise celebrates all of you, our readers without whom the responsibility to exercise and preserve this freedom wouldn’t exist. Today, we remind one another of our most sacred of American ideals, Liberty.
For those of you wishing to remain “in the loop” in a timely manner by getting your community based news and information on a weekly basis, we thank you for your continued readership of the News Enterprise and our news site, www.newsenterprise.net.
As always, feel free to forward your comments, observations, and suggestions to us anytime. Email me directly at: publisher@newsenterprise.net.
Thank you for your continued readership.