The Price of Freedom

The following is Editor Jim Lewis’ Note introducing the theme of the July, 2026 Issue of Verse-Vitual in which two of my poems appear:

“The thing about freedom, in whatever circumstances it may exist, is that it is not self-sustaining. It never has been. It requires watching, tending, expanding, and defending or it disappears. At times through neglect, at times through violence, but it does disappear. When Jefferson said that the price was eternal vigilance, I trust that he was astute enough to know that vigilance isn’t merely watching and calling “foul!” now and then. He would have known, he must have known, that action is an essential part of vigilance. It would be easy to rant about current affairs in the United States, as well as in other places, where freedom is being violently denied to large groups of people. But ranting doesn’t fix problems. It’s the epitome of “after all has been said and done, there’s usually been a lot more said than done.” The real price of freedom is action. Informed, deliberate action that sees clearly what needs to be done, and does it. That applies to personal freedom as much as to societal, national, or cultural freedoms. Stay vigilant, my friends. And stay free.”