Dear Editor,

What did you do this past Fourth of July? Did you take the time and explain to your children and grandchildren what that day was all about? Or did you do as many Americans and go about the ritual of purchasing items for the barbecue and attend the community fireworks show? Did you allow your children and grandchildren to hear you complain about how bad things are? Did you allow your children and grandchildren to hear you curse the government, or our president for that matter?

Understand that in our home of the brave, all of us (the 1 percent of the country who has served and is still serving), if given the opportunity, would do it again and gladly, even knowing the consequences. Know and understand that it was and is a collective effort from a multitude of ethnicities for more than 200 years.

I ask that you start the conversation. I ask that you accentuate the positive and negate the negative. Never forget that you enjoy the comforts of home, your car, your profession, etc. because of government. It is because of government that you are safe and secure and your children are afforded choices.

It is because of government that you can complain about our government without fear of retribution. Most importantly, it is because of the sons and daughters of this great country who are serving and those who served/sacrificed, that we are here to celebrate and enjoy the company of friends and family daily. I ask that we as a people reflect more and practice the true understanding of what we mean to the world and to each other as citizens of the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Jefferson Varner III, United States Army, retired