Let me tell you a love story.

It's not your typical love story. Not like in the movies or the love songs. I learned the hard way, like all of us, that life isn’t like that. There are people who think only of themselves and not the damage they do to others. There are people driven by sinister motives who do heinous things. But there are people who endeavor to protect you from dangers you see and from dangers you can’t or don’t wish to see. There’s a love story there. Let me tell you.

In sixth grade, I declared that I was either going to be an FBI agent or a teacher. This was the beginning of a lifelong love affair; even thought I didn’t know it at the time. Eventually I joined the military serving as military policeman. I earned a bachelor’s degree in political science. I left the military and earned a master’s degree in teaching history. I worked in education for a few years until 9/11. Duty called, and I entered public service.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve felt guilty for not being there at significant moments in the lives of my family and friends over the years, all while I was away in Asia, South America, Texas, New Jersey and all the other places I’ve been. But then I think that even when I was there, I didn’t say or do enough. I’ve had to face the fact that I’m not good with people. I’m not good with small talk. I’m horrible with names. My memory is faulty. I can be intense. I often don’t know what to say or do in those moments when someone I care about is troubled or suffering.

Then I started to realize that in sixth grade I must have known who I was and how difficult it would be for me to relate one-on-one with people, even those I loved. If I couldn’t emotionally wrap myself around those I cared about to protect them, why don’t I find another way to love? So, I joined the military. I became an educator. I entered public service.

I had fallen in love with freedom and the documents that protect it. I fell in love with pieces of paper. With words. With the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence. I was an idealist when I was young, and I’ve retained much of that love of a better world. But I also realized we have to live in the world that is, and there are and always will be evil people in it.

I’ve lived on three continents and in five countries. I’ve ardently studied history. I’ve learned that we can dream all we want about peace, but there will always be those who disrupt it. It could be on a large scale like Hitler or Bin Laden or a personal level like a jerk who cuts you off in traffic. Sorry to break it to you, but that will never change. That is the price we pay for having free will. The freedom to choose who you are and how you react to life’s challenges.

When I was a teacher, I used to start the class of by having my class respond to a quote. One of the ones I used was from Pink Floyd: “Did you exchange your walk-on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?” Do we focus on building our own piece of life and concern ourselves solely with those close to us or do we focus on the larger world and the sorrows and challenges it presents?

I chose my walk-on part in the war so that others could focus more on their personal lives and relationships. Possibly because I believed I could serve you better that way, since I felt I couldn’t love person-to-person as well as I wanted to. So, I chose a life of public service. My entire life has been dedicated to loving each and every one of you. By working to protect your lives and your freedom. So that you can exercise your free will, free from oppression. So that you can express yourself freely and peacefully and learn from others who express themselves in like manner. So that you have the opportunity to become the person you want to be, and your children will be free to do so as well.

Since I met my amazing wife, Laura, I’ve been able to love in a person-to-person way better than I have in the past, but my challenges in that area remain. Hence, my continued fierce devotion to, and defense of, the freedom we enjoy as a result of the wisdom of those flawed but intelligent founders of this nation.

So, to those who ignore my posts, are annoyed by them, as well as those who enjoy them, know that they all really say the same thing: I love you. I’m imperfect. I’m flawed. I haven’t done all I wish I had. But I love you. I love that you are free and I want your children and grandchildren to be free. Free to love. Free to think. Free to be flawed. Free to think. Free to learn. Free to grow. Free.