This week, the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication is celebrating one of the most powerful and cherished elements of the Constitution: the First Amendment.

The rights it guarantees make such a celebration possible; indeed, the gathering, speaking and religious freedom we will exercise this week are exactly what the amendment protects. Because of the First Amendment, I can write and publish these very words and proudly sign my name to them without fear of reprisal.

The amendment, too, guarantees our right to denounce and petition against the decisions of our government and not face criminal punishment. It allows us, for example, to protest the war on terror and our nation’s involvement in Iraq.

But we must not lose sight of the source of this great liberty: The hard work of the men and women of the U.S. military, who today serve in the Middle East and around the world.

I know that hard work well — my father is an officer in the Navy and has devoted 27 years of his life to protecting my freedoms. Many on campus know him as an instructor in the Naval ROTC program.

For six years, I have been asked many times why I didn’t follow in my father’s footsteps into the Navy.

My direct answer: “I’ve already put in my required 20 years.”

I realize that to some, that is an unfair statement, because I have never been overseas or put myself in the line of fire for this country.

But I have made sacrifices. While growing up, I missed out on my father being around for birthdays, soccer games and assemblies.

I have very few “friends from back home” because home changed every two or three years. I never got a say in the matter, either, even when I began my senior year at my third high school in four years. For these reasons, it would be easy for me to turn my nose up at the military and complain that my childhood was taken from me. After all, it’s my First Amendment right to denounce our government and the decisions it made affecting my life.

But I don’t feel any bitterness. Instead, I am filled with an immense sense of pride when the national anthem is played before ISU athletic events. The sound of fireworks exploding on the Fourth of July sends chills through me.

With my father, I have been able to witness firsthand exactly what military life is like and come to love and respect it. I have been out to sea for daylong cruises for family members and been shown how a naval ship operates. I have even stepped out on the tarmac at the real Top Gun Academy.

I look back on my 23 years as a self-described “Navy brat” and realize how enriched my life has been. I have nothing but the utmost respect for the men and women who have dedicated their lives to allow me to enjoy the freedoms I do — especially my most cherished: the freedom of press.

When Americans stand and thumb their noses at the war on terror, it’s not only offensive to the men and women who serve, but also to the millions of their dependents who have devoted their lives to allow their loved ones to protect your rights. It’s offensive and unpatriotic.

After all, it’s my constitutional right to say so.