The blood of Nathan Hale hallows the ground upon which the United Nations buildings set. How it would have thrilled that noble soul to have know that one day his blood would be vindicated by the establishing of that symbol of the quest for peace among men. That man who regretted that "I have but one life to give for my country" has been vindicated. His name reverbrated throughout every history class further than the eye could see, and his kind dictated that such a development, however feeble, must come about.
When you go to vote, you are doing more than voting for a man. You are doing more than voting for a party! You are ratifying history! You are saying, "Thanks" to every last one of those heroes who laid down his or her life in the name and on the altar of freedom. "Thank you for caring enough to give the very best--your life."
Freedom is such a fragile thing. All it takes for it to irretrievably die is for good men and women to do nothing. All we have to do is take it for granted and it will go away--be snatched from us.
In the lifetime of this writer we have been called upon to offer everything upon the altar of freedom. He and his compatriots were the first Americans to be called to such distant lands that we could oft times not spell the names of the places we were. One out of every four of those boys that I played with in school spilled his blood and lost his life on foreign soil. Others were permanently maimed in body and mind. Our freedom was so direly threatened that each of us thought the risk was worth it. We came near not preserving it.
Now, the question that is raised here is, if these were willing to make that supreme sacrifice that they handed to you to enjoy in these ensuing thirty-five years, is that freedom so common--is it so little valued that you feel no compulsion to get out and show your thanks to God and to them? You can register your thank you by exercising your privilege at that hallowed hall--your voting place. Please.
B. Loe
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