President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy, forget in time that men have died to win them.”  As we daily live and work and play, we may unintentionally take for granted the miracle and gift of the freedom fought and won by our courageous service men and women.  Fortunately, we have these days set aside to help us reflect that sacrifice paid by so many.

It has been our greatest honor this last week, to celebrate and remember those great men and women who have served our country and given the utmost sacrifice.  Since that first remembrance celebration in 1868, our country has taken time to show its gratitude to the many fallen soldiers who have died in defense of our nation, its values and those others suffering oppression in the countless wars and conflicts. 

From the very beginning of this great nation, our forefathers believed that each of us had the privilege and right to live a life of our own making.  In their own claim for independence they wrote, “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.”

 Throughout history, tyrants and dictators around the world have selfishly sought for power and control.  Regardless of their own personal motives, they have each acted with disdain toward the personal liberties and freedoms that every person has been granted.  Our great nation has sought to stand up to such oppressors in defense of those people and ideals under abuse.  A stance we can only make because of the individuals that have dedicated their lives and deaths in defense of such important rights.

Farmers and ranchers, like so many others, gratefully acknowledge that their opportunities to pursue the great American dream are allowed through the decades of sacrifice from such great individuals.  They find happiness as they work their lands, raise their herds and harvest their crops. They find great fulfillment and satisfaction as they overcome the unending challenges that befall them. The agriculture industry has been built on a legacy of grit, determination and self-reliance.  Rather than working in a demanding and oppressive culture, our farmers and ranchers are able to develop their herds, lands and businesses in whatever way they please as they fulfill their great mission of feeding the world.

There is no way to replay the debt and innumerable possibilities granted by those defending our freedoms.  Farmers and ranchers can only show their gratitude as they pursue their dreams to the fullest.  They honor the fallen as they give their best efforts each day to. They honor them on those cold nights when they work to keep a freezing calf alive.  They honor them as they work long hours to get new crops in the fields.  They honor them as they meet devastating disasters of drought, fire, floods and blizzards head on despite wanting to give up.  Each day they keep fighting for their dream, giving their greatest efforts, they honor the fallen.

This week, and every week, we recognize and thank those brave soldiers that weren’t able to come home and pursue their American dream so that we can.  Thank you for your stance for freedom.  Thank you for your example of courage.  And thank you for your unyielding dedication to what is right so that we can enjoy our freedoms of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” as we live our American dream.