WASHINGTON D.C.—With the Fourth of July holiday upon us, we should take the time to thank the soldiers and our nation’s veterans for their sacrifices. The veterans and soldiers are not the only ones sacrificing for our freedoms, their families sacrifice a lot as well.

We spend the year complaining about politics and politicians; who we like, don’t like or hate. We like so few anymore it has become almost depressing. We call politicians names, we send nasty e-mails about those elected leaders who we revile and don’t trust. All the while we forget the men and women who make this freedom of speech possible. Without our military, we would not be the free nation we are today. China’s government often monitors communications online and when they decide they don’t like a comment or a group, they cut off their ability to communicate their feelings about unfairness. Almost all of the Middle Eastern and many Asian countries suffer this same treatment. Even in South America it’s possible. In our nation, we can call the president names, and we do, we can cheer on terrorists like Timothy McVeigh, not realizing we are turning into the very people we are at war against.

All of that, however, is protected. Freedom of speech, the Second Amendment, which is our right to bear arms, all of these things we do daily and never realize that someone’s blood and possibly lives are taken in defense of it. Therefore, perhaps it is too much to ask people to change their ways. Though, possibly for one day or a weekend we can remember those who make the ultimate sacrifices for our nation and for our own individual freedoms, even if we do not show proper respect and appreciation for the many sacrifices our soldiers and nation’s veterans have made and continue to make for us.

I’ll be spending Saturday as I always do, at a local USO office feeding soldiers who fly in and out of a major U.S. airport. I’m determined to also try to do it on Sunday. What are you doing? Aside from calling politicians names and listening to talk radio. Will you go out and grill something or make a salad or dessert for service members’ families who miss their father, mother, son or daughter? Will you think about getting outside of yourself and your own fears and hatred just for a couple days and make a difference in someone’s life?

Remember that our troops do this for us every day in the name of freedom and the defense of it. Doing something for our veterans and troops overseas may cause you to miss a TV show, a ballgame or even a gossip-fest over the Internet or the telephone. Our soldiers may lose a limb, take a bullet or even lose their lives so that we can live safe and free here in the U.S. Please remember to do something for someone else this weekend, and if it’s for a service member or their family, please try to make a difference.

God bless America, the greatest nation in the history of mankind.