People speaking of our military often say, “We owe them our freedom.” We do in fact count on a strong military to maintain our independence, and were unedningly grateful to those who place themselves in danger for us. But just putting on a uniform doesn’t make someone a hero, and not all of our wars have actually had anything to do with our freedom – though that’s the fault of our leaders and we voters, not the military personnel.

*In reality we owe our freedom to a great many people, including… maybe ESPECIALLY including… people who make us very uncomfortable. Freedom’s really no big deal when we’re all on the same page. It’s when we don’t fit in, or when somebody else doesn’t fit in, that freedom becomes crucial.

*So among many others, we owe our freedom to little Jehovah’s Witness children who follow their faith in refusing to salute the flag, despite trips to the office, suspensions from school, and attacks by other children… or even by adults.

*We owe our freedom to unappreciated news reporters who drag themselves out for even the boring meetings of local government, never missing, always digging, always learning the facts, shining a spotlight, and acting as a watchdog lest laxity or greed should become too tempting.

*We owe our freedom to every conscientious objector who fought fires and cleaned bedpans as alternate service, or who sat in cells where they survived daily beatings aimed at forcing them to pick up a gun.

*We owe our freedom to the A.C.L.U. lawyers who champion our Constitution when far too many of us would be happy to sweep it under the rug.

*We owe our freedom to every citizen who pays attention to the campaigns and who then gets out and votes, despite waves of messages telling us that we won’t make a dime’s worth of difference.

*We owe our freedom to the “people’s university,” our public libraries, crammed full of ideas and information that challenge our mindsets.

*We owe our freedom to our public schools, our community colleges, our state universities and our land-grant institutions, expanding our world and our ideas, and helping us build an economic foundation for practical freedom.

*We owe our freedom to the scientists who won’t shut up when we’re poisoning our children.

*We owe our freedom to people of minority groups and minority religions when they fight for their fair and full participation in America – when they challenge America to be true to its talk.

*We owe our freedom to those who reject racism when it’s put on display in front of them.

*When Norman Rockwell did a series of “Four Freedoms” paintings during World War II, the freedom of speech image showed a scene that’s dear to my heart, the New England town meeting. Rockwell isn’t often accused of subtlety, but he tiptoes into it here. The man in the plaid shirt and the filthy jacket rises to say his piece, surrounded by men in white shirt, suit, and tie. But more significantly, his jacket has buttons, while his plaid shirt has a zipper – the reverse of the usual pattern. He’s an oddball. He’s different. He doesn’t fit in.

*Rockwell is often revered for his nostalgic vision of America, but he knew full well that it wasn’t real, and left his comfortable billet with the Saturday Evening Post to gain the freedom of painting about poverty in America, about the civil rights struggle, about three men being gunned down in Mississippi. Many people were disappointed, bewildered, or enraged to find their comfortable favorite artist suddenly challenging them.

*So sure enough, we do owe our freedom, to some extent, to our troops. But we also owe it to 75 year-old Catholic Workers pacifist Dorothy Day, despite her ill health spending ten days in jail for demonstrating on behalf of farm workers. And to thousands and thousands of other Americans who rock the boat, shine the spotlight, stand alone. Without them too, we wouldn’t be free.