America the free, America the brave; the virtues of this country are extolled over and over again.  We are the ones with the Statue of Liberty that welcomed so many immigrants from overseas seeking a better life in the early 1900s.  We are also the ones talking about building a huge fence along our southern border to keep out immigrants now seeking a better life.                  Freedom and bravery can go hand in hand.  Many movies show warriors fighting for freedom from their oppressors and marching into battle to fight for liberation.  Our country was founded by people like the warriors in those movies.  We knew that we could not remain British subjects and were willing to die for what would become our own country.                  Freedom and bravery can also be in conflict.  Back then, men and women knew that sacrifices had to be made for the greater good. These days we have forgotten that basic idea of one for all and all for one.                  The problem is not that America is no longer free, the problem is that the freedoms we have are being taken for granted.  Very few citizens seem to realize that what we have is special and that we should be working to protect it, not flaunting the abilities our forefathers died for at every turn.                  Where is the brave American homemaker who carefully saved her grease during World War II to help support the troops overseas? What has become of those who, while they would have preferred not to have rationed food, found ways to supplement it and take pride in what they could save and create? Today greed seems to rule over all else.                  When groups like Westboro Baptist Church can harass grieving families at funerals and then say that it is their right to do so, America needs a reality check. Rights were given to us to ensure that our government could not harm us, not to allow citizens to hurt each other.                  What’s more, the rights that were fought so long and hard for are not only being flaunted but ignored. Voting was opened to allow all citizens age 18 and over in 1971, but according to The Pew Trust, in the 2000 election only 36 percent of youths ages 18 to 24 voted and the turnout for that age group was highest in the 1972 election where 52 percent of youth came out.                  Another major right that seems to be alternately ignored and abused in this country is the freedom of religion. Many citizens seem to forget that people of all religions, be they Satanists or Jews, Muslims or Zoroastrians, have the right to worship as they wish.If a group of Wiccans decides to move into a neighborhood, unless they break other laws, they should be left to worship in peace. The same applies to Muslims wishing to use a building near Ground Zero as so long as they do not break any other laws, they are within their rights to utilize that building as a community and worship space. How tasteful their decision is might be up for debate, but the legality should not be.                  Civics needs to be learned in school. Students should not be able to graduate high school without an understanding of how the legal system works and what his or her rights are.  Too many people just know how to shout about their freedom of speech without understanding what it means and entails.Legal literacy is key to a functional society. Perhaps, once we begin to understand how the system works and how it should be used, we will see a return in those brave men and women and a return to intelligent public discourse.