Our grandson is a U.S. Marine. This week I told him about his great-grandfather, my Dad, who was a proud U.S. Marine. Dad, like other U.S. Marines I know, are Marines, even if they aren’t currently serving. When the Marine Corps Hymn, “From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli …” was played, Dad stood up and sang.

Dad fought in the Pacific in WWII. He never talked about combat. Once in a while, something slipped out, like when they were landing on Tarawa. The Marines came in on landing boats that couldn’t make it all the way to the beach. They waded ashore under heavy Japanese fire with nothing to protect them. Dad said, “I was in the second wave to hit the beach. If I had been in the first wave, you wouldn’t be here. They were wiped out.” As an adult, the weight of what Dad said hit me. What Dad went through, wading ashore under heavy weapons fire, stepping over the bodies of his combat buddies, was unimaginable.

Dad didn’t get to shoot a missile or fire a long-range weapon at an enemy he couldn’t see. Much of the fighting he did was hand-to-hand, close-range combat, sometimes with a bayonet. You were looking your enemy in the eye. The psychological impact is hard to fathom. Maybe that’s why he smoked three packs of cigarettes a day. They killed him at age 54 of high blood pressure and a heart attack. Cigarettes robbed him of lung capacity. Dad was a good swimmer. In his 40s at Boy Scout Camp with us, he struggled to swim 150 yards.

After the war, Dad had nightmares where he kicked and flung his arms. Many times, Mom jumped out of bed scared to death, to keep from getting kicked. Mom shared why she sometimes slept in the living room chair. Dad was wounded in action by a grenade. He showed us the shrapnel from the grenade still in his body. Dad always told us, “There are no atheists in a fox hole.” We went to church every Sunday. Dad gave us the values we needed to succeed, like faith in God, importance of family, integrity, work ethic and love of country. He taught us to tell the truth all the time.

Dad’s story isn’t unique. Since The American Revolution, millions of brave veterans have fought and died for the many freedoms we can take for granted. Millions more, like Dad, had to live with the psychological and physical effects of war. Many lost limbs or have PTSD. Freedom is never free. They fought so we could have freedom of speech. It is a precious and important freedom billions of people around the word don’t have. In the 1960s, Dad strongly disagreed with the Vietnam War protesters. He didn’t like what they said. He agreed 100% with their right to say it. WWII veterans could have shot the protesters like some people are doing today. They didn’t because they understood the rights they fought for. Should college students who shout down speakers they disagree with on campus, taking away free speech, be required to serve in the military or lose their privilege? “Safe rooms” at colleges where disagreement is not allowed are a direct attack on free speech and American democracy.

Americans have always disagreed, going back to our nation’s founding. There were very passionate arguments by the Founding Fathers during the writing of the Constitution. One of the biggest was how many representatives each state should have in Congress. The large states like Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania thought it should be based on population. The small states like Rhode Island and Connecticut wanted each state to be equally represented. There were no fist fights. No one got shot. They disagreed with a lot of passion, listened to each other, had civil discussion and found a compromise. The result was the two-chamber Congress we have today. The number of House representatives each state has is based on population. In the Senate each state has two senators.

Charlie Kirk, no matter your opinion of him, showed us what free speech is about. He willingly gave the microphone to those who disagreed with him. He asked questions like, “Why do you feel that way?” or “What do you base that statement on?” He listened. Charlie attacked a person’s ideas or statements, never the individual. He treated people with respect. Sadly, he was killed for his courage to exercise his right of free speech.

The 1960s was a time of turmoil. Many long-standing ideas and beliefs were challenged. When I came home from college, I thought I had all the answers. Dad and I had some lively, respectful arguments. Sometimes we agreed to disagree. When I entered the real world after graduation, I realized how smart Dad was. We both changed from our discussions. Wish he had lived longer.

If we expect to keep our democratic republic, we all need to work to protect freedom of speech for all. The FBI shouldn’t investigate parents for disagreeing with their school board. People like scientists and engineers shouldn’t be intimidated into silence for disagreeing with the current norm. A college professor disagreeing with climate change is branded a “climate denier” making life difficult. Professors and engineers, I know have kept quiet to protect their job or their company. Science is never settled. Galileo was imprisoned for proposing the earth goes around the sun.

Hate speech and name calling without basis are anti-American democracy. We can be kind online. Problems like crime, the economy, energy needs, environment, drug abuse or world peace can be solved by working together, treating people with dignity and listening even if we disagree. As a manger, I expected everyone to speak their mind and present their ideas. We resolved problems. Our organization thrived.

The American Dream is alive and well as long as we protect our greatest secret weapon, Freedom of Speech. Dad understood.

Greg Kozera, gkozera@shalecrescentusa.com, is the director of marketing and sales for Shale Crescent USA, www.shalecrescentusa.com. He is a professional engineer with a master’s in environmental engineering and over 40 years’ experience in the energy industry. He is a professional speaker and author of four books and numerous published articles.