Freedom – 6 Ways Today’s Patriots are Paying the High Price for Liberty
It’s only been 247 years since our founding fathers took their stand – but it feels like forever to some of us.
As citizens of the world’s most affluent and accomplished nation, it’s easy to forget that every single freedom we enjoy was bought at a very high price.
The American Revolution took the most unlikely and blood-soaked path to victory, and our nation’s liberty was up for grabs again only a few years later in the Battle of 1812.
As we appreciate the miraculous stories of our founding, we can easily miss that the signers of our Declaration had climbed out on a very flimsy limb – risking all for the hope of freedom. Their houses were burned, and many families lost husbands and sons. Still, they leaned into the idea of self-government, freedom from tyranny, and the ability to worship God as they wished.
Our fight for freedom is remembered with parades and fireworks – but we must never forget the grit, blood, and sweat that caked their feet and faces as our earliest patriots fought and died. In many cases, these young men never glimpsed the country that would one day stand as tall as it does today.
They would be equally shocked at the current battle for the heart and soul of America. It’s in every corner of culture, and now it’s our turn to hold the line.
You may not see a British cannon perched on the ridge of the hill, but an equally dangerous foe is attacking our great nation from within. As the enemy rages, we sometimes sink into the relative safety of hiding – occasionally peeking from our foxhole to see what’s ahead.
- Is it a school bent on teaching our children they’re victims who will never amount to anything – or oppressors who bear the blame?
- Or a librarian hosting drag queens in halls intended for our greatest literature?
- It might even be a trusted retailer now bent on indoctrinating the youngest children into gender ideology as mom does the weekly shopping.
It’s made up of a thousand small attacks, but mamas, the battle is on.
What is the Price of Freedom Today?
In many ways, our freedom is on trial, so we’d like to share six ways today’s patriots are paying the high price for liberty.
1. Hero Teachers Push Back Against Radical Rules
California teacher Jessica Tapia’s school year was drawing to a successful end. Still, something was brewing that would change everything for this young, inspirational teacher. In the coming days, “the directive,” which laid out strict rules for teachers, would exact a high price for her long-held Christian and moral standards.
“The directive,” demanded teachers:
- Use “preferred” pronouns for students.
- Hide information or outright lie to parents regarding their gender-transitioning children.
- As a PE teacher, she was required to allow males identifying as females to use the girl’s locker room.
For Tapia, it was too much. To compromise her faith and be an accomplice in destroying kids and their relationships with their parents was a bridge too far. When she respectfully stood her ground, she was terminated. Now, she’s suing.
Jessica Tapia is a hero and patriot. Her stand cost her job and reputation; now, she must go through the public legal process. Don’t miss her story on this week’s podcast.
You may also recall another podcast with teacher Kali Fontanilla, who lost her job over her objections to CRT indoctrination.
They are not alone. There are many more whose names you won’t know – hundreds of educators are pushing back, regardless of the cost. They are paying with their livelihoods to protect our freedom to raise our own children.
2. Small Businesses Pay Dearly to Stand Their Ground
For all of the very public battles like Jack Phillips, the cake baker from Colorado who declined to bake for a same–sex wedding ceremony – countless others didn’t have the support or wherewithal to save their businesses against the onslaught.
It’s worth noting that Phillips has paid a hefty price for this – and continues to. He has managed to hold on to his business amid ongoing lawsuits for ten years, and we consider him a true champion for freedom of religion and speech.
Other businesses fell to pandemic shutdowns that favored big box stores over smaller ones and strip clubs over libraries. Some, like Lindsay Graham, aka “Patriot Barbie,” took her stand, attempting to fight back by reopening her salon against the government mandate. Though she couldn’t save her salon – she has become a voice for liberty.
Thousands of businesses have collapsed in the last few years under the weight of inflation, shutdowns – or canceling. An online mob crushed my own daughter’s art business because she refused to draw a transgender flag. She didn’t file a lawsuit but left her nearly 250,000 subscribers with a heartfelt final message: God loves them.
She and countless others who lost their businesses over the last few years picked up the pieces and started over. Thankfully, in America, you still can.
3. Churches In the Crosshairs of Radical Government
Who can forget the lockdowns of 2020 and beyond? Liquor stores and abortion clinics were considered essential as churches were shuttered by state governments. Remember California’s mandate forbidding church members from singing? (We’re looking at you, Governor Newsom!) It was nuts.
Congregants attending drive-in services in Mississippi with no possible way to catch or infect others with covid had their license plates recorded. They were issued citations with $500 fines.1 California was the walking dog for government overreach as church leaders from Harvest Church in Pasadena were threatened with jail time. Other churches in that state were fined hundreds of thousands for opening their doors to worshippers.2
Finally, stifled churchgoers recognized the government’s overreach and started to push back. Brave Americans of various faiths paid the price to protect church communities nationwide. Our hats are off to everyone who raised worship and prayer to the only One who can save our nation from a pandemic of government oppression.
4. Women Athletes Cancelled for Taking a Stand for Fairness
Champion college swimmer Riley Gaines was thrust into the spotlight by daring to reveal the obvious – male athletes competing against females is wrong. It used to be common sense. You may say you’re a girl – but that doesn’t make it so. When she swam against “Lia” Thomas, formerly a mediocre performer on the University of Pennsylvania’s men’s team, she knew she could not remain silent. She paid a price on several fronts for exposing the injustice. Even as she stood for women athletes – feminists remained tight-lipped. Curious, eh? You can hear more of her story on our podcast.
Other athletes have lost coveted top honors to men, lost scholarships, and more. Speaking up, which many are, may provide freedom and fairness for future female athletes.
5. Students Punished for Expressions of Freedom
There are more and more rules popping up in academia. Even before the intensity of the last couple of years, in 2018, the University of Montana Western created a policy whereby students could be punished for making a mean face.3 We’re not kidding.
Meanwhile, at the Airforce Academy, a cadet was accused of creating a hostile environment with a Bible verse he had written on a whiteboard on his dorm door: “For I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) Sounds like free speech – and exercise of religion.
It’s not limited to higher education – and you probably have stories you could share with us.
Three middle school students in Wisconsin were suspended for “sexual harassment.” Their crime: they didn’t use a classmate’s preferred pronouns. Rose Rabidoux, mom of an involved boy, explained that the classmate had asked people to use “they” and “them.”
“It’s plural. It doesn’t make sense to him. So, I told him to call them by their names,” Rabidoux explained.4
Other students have been singled out, scholarships removed, suspensions and expulsions enacted. Each paid a price, unwilling to relinquish freedom guaranteed in our Constitution. When the story makes the news – it costs them even more – but these cases must become known to the public.
6. Parents Pay Heavily to Protect their Families and Freedoms
It used to be you could opt your child out of something you deemed inappropriate in the classroom. Increasingly, schools are trying to remove those exceptions. In some states, you can’t remove your little one from mandatory gender education – even very young students. As in Jessica Tapia’s story above, teachers are encouraged to hide vital information that affects a student’s health and well-being from their parents.
Moms like you have pulled your kids from public school – paying the hefty price of private education – or turning your world upside down (at least that’s what it can feel like) to begin homeschooling. We’ll do anything to protect our beloved kiddos, right mamas?
Other parents have won elections to serve their communities on school boards and become active and involved to have a say in their local schools. We have help for you if you’d like to get involved. Your price will be a gift to your kids and future students.
Some families have pulled up stakes and moved to a more family-friendly state. Many waved goodbye to California’s sunshine and oppressive taxes and regulations for red states that still value personal freedom.
There are so many more we could mention. Think of our embattled heroes on the police force, demonized by mainstream media yet still risking their lives for their communities. Then there are the doctors who forfeited their medical licenses when they stood for medical freedom against powerful forces during the pandemic. Many military heroes lost their commissions because they refused to take a vaccine. What about mental health professionals hamstrung by regulations denying their right to help clients with gender dysphoria. Those who defy those rules lose their licenses.
Every effort is costly – and every action stakes a claim on America’s tradition of freedom.
So next time you take on a challenge to protect your family or to stand for freedom and it costs you – look to your left, then to your right. You are not alone. Other patriots are beside you, paying the price for freedom - for the next generation of young patriots and the future of our great land.
4 kktv.com
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