The Catholic Defender: Freedom isn’t Free/America, Freedom always comes at a High Price
- Donald Hartley
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
The phrase is widely used to express gratitude for the military, acknowledging that soldiers pay the ultimate price for the rights civilians enjoy.
As noted by Ronald Reagan, freedom is never more than one generation from extinction and must be constantly defended.
It implies a duty to protect liberty from being lost, whether through foreign threats or internal erosion.
John F. Kennedy frequently emphasized the high cost of liberty in American politics, famously stating, "The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission".
This philosophy was a cornerstone of his speeches, reflecting the Cold War tensions of the 1960s and his commitment to defending democratic values against totalitarianism.
Kennedy argued that freedom is "never free" and requires eternal vigilance, stating that the "defense of our freedoms will cost us more than we wish to pay".
In his 1961 inaugural address, he urged Americans to embrace responsibility for their country, famously saying, "ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country".
JFK championed the "Freedom Doctrine," aiming to support nations fighting against tyranny and injustice, noting that the struggle for freedom was not limited to the U.S. but was a worldwide endeavor.
In his 1963 report to the American people on civil rights, he argued that the nation would not be truly free until all its citizens, particularly African Americans, were fully free from oppression.
Kennedy was often quoted that "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty" and believed that to be "the land of the free," America must also be "the home of the brave".
Kennedy transformed civil rights from a legal debate into a "moral issue." He proposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, arguing that the nation would not be "fully free until all its citizens are free".
This was his campaign slogan and governing framework, which presented Americans with a set of "challenges" rather than just "promises"As early as 1946, he noted that rights were "dearly won" and "dearly preserved," warning that the struggle for liberty is "never-ending" and requires "eternal vigilance".
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