Understanding what freedom really is

Dear God, thank you so much for giving me the privilege to live in this great country, I whispered after reading Sunday's article.

I know first hand what it means to live under a communist regime - Poland was imprisoned for over half a century behind the Iron Curtain.

This article brought back a flood of memories.

The total loss of freedom, of trust. Even within the country, you had to register with the militia in every city you wanted to visit. Visiting another country was totally out of the question.

You could not speak freely with anyone, you could not trust anyone, as you could never be sure whether they would betray you, sometime to save themselves, sometimes just out of envy or anger.

One day you would disappear and no one knew what happened to you.

If you were lucky, word leaked out to your family, that you were in prison. No trials, no legal assistance, you were gone.

You were the enemy of the regime if you did not belong to the Communist Party, or if you had relatives in the free world.

You were the enemy if you went to church, if you married in church, if you baptized your children, if you buried your dead in a religious ceremony.

As such, you did not get a good job, you did not get an adequate apartment, your children did not get a good education. And you were under constant surveillance and you did not know who was watching you. Maybe even one of your friends.

All your telephone conversations were bugged, all your correspondence was read. You could not print anything, not even a wedding invitation, without having to get the approval of the regime.

You had to stand in line for hours, many times fruitlessly, just to get meat or groceries or even toilet paper.

Whatever they delivered and you were lucky to hear about it, you bought it.

There was no choice in groceries, in clothes, in furniture, in anything. And all of it was drab and of the poorest quality.

You were a suspect if you dressed a little bit better, or ate a little bit better. You were not allowed to own anything whether home or business as you and all of your assets belonged to the Regime.

I pray that all the misguided, unhappy Americans, pause on this 4th of July and reflect on how incredibly blessed they are to live here.

I pray that all our leaders, whether in politics or business, understand how the welfare of our country, our entire country not just certain parties or individuals, depends on their courage, their honesty, their industry, their integrity.

God bless America and keep it safe from all enemies, those within and those outside of its borders.

Barbara Wroblewski

Wheeling