INDEPENDENCE MEANS...

 
- James Chintala, Contributing Writer

Here I am, another year gone by since my last blog. I now find myself in Washington DC,  a place that has become home to historic figures of our government and our country. Of course there is the The White House, and then there’s the Treasury Department, The Old Executive Office Building, the Blair House;  list goes on.  There are the actual artifacts within these historic places, for example,  the sword that was given to George Washington after he was commissioned, or the original painting of our first president (which, by the way, is the oldest item located inside The White House).  With the painting being placed inside The White House when the construction was complete in 1800, the painting has only left the grounds once, when there was a fire in 1814. There’s also the Indian Treaty Room, where President Eisenhower held the nation’s first televised Presidential news conference.  Maybe these events don’t hold much historical significance to some but there are those that find places like the Dish Room to be rich with history. In fact, imagine a room filled with glasses, plates, and silverware, dating back to President Washington!  Or better yet, halls adorned with paintings of famous former First Ladies like Jackie Kennedy, or even Former President Kennedy himself, in the infamous humbling pose with his head bowed down.

Here is Washington DC, a city rich with countless and priceless historical memories, the list would continue for pages if I were to try. Yet there is one historical artifact that stands out in my mind. It is the Declaration of Independence.  I remember back to when I was 7 or 8 years old.  I was on a field trip where my mother bought me a copy of the Declaration. It was your typical gift shop item,  worn and ragged, just like I imagined the real one to be.  As a boy, even then, the meaning somehow stood out from other useless historic items, like feather pens or “authentic” old style glass-type gifts that lay on the gift shop shelves.  Those items never made it into my secret box, you know the one that every kid has, but my copy of the Declaration of Independence sure did.  I’d read it over and over, countless times a day, not fully understanding the words.  I do remember trying my hardest to understand the power our Founder Fathers held and created.  Sooner or later, that item fell to the wayside as well, and I filed the even more ragged and torn declaration away. It still stays now in the top drawer of my dresser, and when I go home I’ll make a point to find it, pull it out, and read it.

Somewhere in the middle of losing sight, getting caught up in the regular rhythm of life, and living the life I have today, I have since joined the Marine Corps.  I’ve been on three  deployments, two of which were to combat, travelled to 14 countries and now have the honor of supporting the staff at The White House for a short period of time. The changes we’ve all become so accustomed to accepting have affected my life more than I cared to realize, until this trip. I found myself acting like that child again, on a field trip, ready and willing to learn about the history that got me so excited the first time around. Knowing now the great lengths of tireless amounts of effort can get you, I am ready to be jolted back in time by the men and women who had such an amazing impact on how we live our lives today.  History was created by the able and willing to stand up make choices for the best of the country, not just for the good of themselves.  That’s the kind of self-reliance comes from our free will and that is what will lead me to my own question. . . .

What does independence mean to me? I believe it’s the pride, courage and honor of having the freewill to create a life that I will do my best to not take for granted. Independence means a life of freedom that has always felt like a gift, whether you ask me now, or that young boy on a field trip.  Independence is a a life of  free will and the opportunity to use that for the greater good. That is what independence means to me.