March 6, 1973
Page 6556
FREEDOM
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, as our prisoners of war return from Vietnam, we are all especially conscious of the meaning of freedom. I recently had the pleasure of being visited in my office by a group from the State of Maine attending the annual dinner of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Washington. One of the group, Ruth Ellen Comber of Jackson, Maine, gave me a short essay entitled "Responsibility to Freedom."
Mr. President, I wish to share with my colleagues her thoughts about freedom and ask unanimous consent that her letter be printed in the RECORD at this time.
There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
MY RESPONSIBILITY TO FREEDOM
(By Ruth Ellen Comber)
Freedom is a great privilege and we must work unitedly to be responsible for it. Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson were the key men in the signing of the "Declaration of Independence," on July 4th, 1776. On that day, these men and many like them, were being responsible for freedom by insuring its existence in our newly formed country. But this document and the ideals it stands for were not conceived by one man. It was created by an assembly of men working together as a unit. When you think of how hard these men worked to bring freedom to our nation, you would think that we could work just as hard to keep it here. One of the most important lines of the "Declaration of Independence" is the one which states that all men are created equal. This means that a man should hold no prejudice against his fellow men. There is no set class system in America where a man, because of his heritage, is in any better position to rule or be ruled, than anyone else.
Because we all are equal, we should all share equally in the benefits obtained from freedom and the responsibilities that accompany it. One person alone could not begin to spread the knowledge and results of liberty throughout the entire country. One person could not even hope to reach every man, woman, and child living in this country. It takes a joint effort by every one of us, each in his own way.
We need politicians to serve the people as representatives to Congress and the Senate. We need them to work for and with us in making the laws and preserving freedom for all.
We need lawyers to fight for justice and truth in the Courtrooms of our land. We need these professionals to insure freedom of the individual and to interpret the laws.
We need policemen to enforce the laws that were made to protect us.
But, most important of all, we need those people whom the laws were made for. We need these concerned citizens to keep our country at its high level; never letting it falter for a moment.
My individual responsibility is to be proud of my heritage and of my country. I should not take any one of these duties for granted. When I become of age, I should be an informed voter and a concerned voter. The political offices should be my concern, and they should be upheld to the highest degree.
To explain further my responsibility to freedom, I would like to refer to the song, "You've got a Friend." The first stanza of this song is: "When you're down and troubled and you need some love and care, and nothing ... nothing is going right; Close your eyes and think of me and soon I will be there, to brighten up even your darkest night." This applies to freedom and its need for my assistance. I try to project myself into the song and think of freedom calling to me for help in finding stability in our society.
The beginning lines of the chorus are: "You just call out my name, and you know wherever I am, I'll come running to see you again." Of course freedom is not capable of calling out my name. But through some political, social or religious strife within this democracy, I should be aware that freedom is calling silently, for my help in solving the problems that could hinder its safety. The last few words of, the chorus are: "Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall, all you have to do is call, and I'll be there. You've got a friend." These lines reveal that no matter what the season is, I should always be ready to aid freedom in any way possible. Whether it is to examine closely a new amendment to make sure it benefits all the people and not just a minor few. Or if it is to learn about America's foreign policy to certify that it is fostering brotherhood with other nations. I should be willing to work for freedom at all times.
The last lyrics of the song are: "Now isn't it good to know that you've got a friend when people can be so cold? They'll hurt you, yes, and desert you, and take your soul if you let them. Oh, but don't you let them."
This means, to me, that there is a struggle involved in protecting and preserving something as necessary to the happiness of an individual as freedom. It isn't easy. But, then, nothing worthwhile ever is.