Vote was assault on freedom

Recently, I traveled to Washington, D.C., with seventh graders sponsored by the Jackson School District. At Arlington National Cemetery watching the changing of guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns, I made a point to tell these teenagers that America is a country that places its highest regard in protecting the resting place of a soldier, unknown in death but honored through service in keeping our country free.

My father was in Italy during World War II. He was one of the survivors. I am his voice today, remembering his stories of suffering along with his heroes, the fallen. I can hear his words: "I did not fight in World War II to have my, or my children's freedom taken away." Therefore, I cannot remain idle by the Jackson Board of Aldermen decision to take away our right to choose how to celebrate the Fourth of July.

That decision will probably be reversed, and this incident needs to be a reminder of what was declared on that July 4 in 1776: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government. ..."

JOYCE JOHNS, Jackson