A Celebration of Freedom
by Neely Steinberg A melting pot of people – thousands of them – gathered on July 4 at the Hatch Shell for the annual Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular.
The crowd roared as the orchestra belted out one memorable tune after another – The Star-Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful, Yankee Doodle, This Land is Your Land, You’re a Grand Old Flag, God Bless America, and John Philip Sousa’s famous march, The Stars and Stripes Forever.
 There was clapping, jumping, dancing, singing and lots of flag waving. People from different races, religions, and backgrounds joined together to celebrate the birth of our nation and the glory and joy of freedom. Surely, some came to enjoy the sounds of the Boston Pops, but my gut was telling me that most were there to pay tribute to the enduring ideals of freedom, to let the feeling of patriotic pride wash over them.
As I observed the delight and happiness around me, I thought about the men and women in Iraq – the people who were fighting abroad for that freedom which we were so eagerly supporting. After Ayla Brown sang The Star-Spangled Banner, Jack Williams, the perennial Boston news anchor, read a quote by Thomas Payne: “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” If there was any a time during the festivities to reflect on the war in Iraq it was at that very moment.
I voted for George W. Bush twice – I am possibly the only female, Jewish republican in the state of Massachusetts. And while I cannot deny that I have had my doubts about the war, moments like Monday night’s celebration strengthened my belief that we can triumph and it can be glorious. Sometimes I feel as though people want defeat in Iraq. They would rather point the finger of failure and say: “I told you so Mr President”, instead of believing that success is possible.
 By no means do I intend to make light of the death and injury that has occurred but if being in Iraq can bring freedom to the Iraqis and to the Middle East – so that one day the people of Baghdad can gather for a celebration such as the one at the Hatch Shell – then perhaps we are carrying out a necessary mission.
Michael Moore and others would have you believe that it is only poor, uneducated people who are suckered into fighting, and it is only the money-hungry oil executives that stand to profit from this war.
But I believe that the men and women fighting in Iraq are incredibly brave and intelligent human beings, and they fight so that mankind can profit from the principles of democracy and freedom.
Finally, I believe that everyone at the Hatch Shell that night, even those against the war, felt deep down that the fight for freedom in Iraq and around the world is a worthy cause. And even if that inner voice spoke only for a moment, its mere presence speaks volumes about the universal and self-evident truths buried deep inside each one of us. |
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