The 4th. of July brought back a lot of fond memories of my childhood – Family picnics with lemonade, watermelons, corn on the cob, potato salad, bratwurst, burgers, beer, apple pie and marshmallows on a stick roasted over an open fire. This year it brought me great concern about the freedoms for which our forefathers sacrificed so much.

I spent my early years in rural Wisconsin. I attended a one-room schoolhouse where grades 1 to 7 were taught together. And yes, I did walk 3 miles to school every day.

In those days we were taught about the Revolutionary War and the drafting of our Constitution. We learned about the basic freedoms of speech, assembly, religion, the right to bear arms and the need to have a free press.

We pledged allegiance to the flag each day before classes began. In later years I joined my teammates in prayer before football games. We respected our elders and said please and thank you and were taught to respect the laws and those enforcing them and were taught to respect our public officials regardless of political party.

Today, prayer has been banned at most public functions. The only time we see an athlete kneel on a field of play is to demonstrate against our national anthem and all for which our flag stands. On college campuses, speakers are shouted off the stage. Public meetings are disrupted by shouts of those who disagree. Our law enforcement officers have become targets for assassination.

City officials openly defy federal law by creating sanctuaries for known criminals. Our private property rights are challenged by mobs, and the presumption of innocence only counts for the hardened criminals.

Leftist bullies are teaching our young people that they can ignore the law. They are teaching them that free speech and the rule of law are only available to those who agree with them.

With divisive political discourse coming from leaders of both political parties, we are gradually losing the freedoms for which our founders fought.

If our basic freedoms are not respected, we will ultimately lose them.

Just like exercising a muscle, you use it or lose it.

Ken's book is available in Middleburg at Chapter Two.