What does it mean to be an American

   “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all…are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

   Some of the greatest Americans wrote these words and they fought the world’s most powerful nation, at that time, to allow these words to define a country. 

   These are not just the things we expect our government to protect, but these are the things we, as Americans, expect other Americans to protect for each other.

   And which of these are of greatest importance? “Life”, yours and that of your fellow Americans - “liberty”, your freedom to go and do whatever you want – or “pursuit of happiness”, a beer at your favorite bar, Sunday church, attending a concert?

   I fought in a war to protect these rights, and then used the GI Bill to eventually get a PhD in Microbiology from the University of Minnesota’s Medical School. Getting vaccinated against COVID will protect your life and that of other Americans, including our children who are not able to get vaccinated. I know this is true. Is it such a difficult thing to ask of an American?

William Pilacinski, PhD

Vietnam Veteran (11B with a CIB)