Those of us who were born during the Second World War and grew up in post-war America were taught the value of freedom.

I can remember my father talking to us around the dinner table about the horror inflicted on the world by Nazism, fascism and communism. I remember the newsreels at movie theaters showing American soldiers entering Paris after the liberation of France and the gratitude of the French as they celebrated in the streets.

As a child in elementary school, we started every day with the Pledge of Allegiance. We studied the history of the founding of our country and the great sacrifices made by millions of men and women to establish a free nation based on individual, God-given rights, limited government and state sovereignty. The Fourth of July was celebrated as recognition of liberty from tyranny, and displays of patriotism were celebrated and filled us with joy and gratitude for our country.

Today, we have a generation who not only did not grow up with these ideals and images but have had a very different experience. Somewhere along the way, we have lost our identity as being a nation of good, decent, freedom-loving people. It started in the 1960s with young people protesting the war in Vietnam and demonizing the soldiers who fought there. Then there was the Hollywood crowd who actually took the side of our enemies.

This anti-American fervor infected the universities and the media. Then the ideas of multiculturalism and political correctness were spread, and America became a symbol of racism, intolerance and homophobia.

When a country loses its pride and begins to believe that it is no better than any other culture, in fact, much worse than many, it will not long survive.

Why would the young people fight to defend America if they have been taught only negative stereotypes? Why would they value freedom if they simply took it for granted and did not understand how unique the experience is in human history?

Children must learn while they are young the true history of sacrifice and courage that it took to establish this nation and to keep the freedom that was fought for so long ago. They must be given a new sense of pride in the fact that it has been America that has been responsible for liberating millions of people around the world.

They must understand that although slavery was a part of our past that it was American ideals that put an end to slavery, and it came with a very high cost in American lives.

They must understand that America is unique in that after winning wars, we have helped to rebuild the defeated country and have not taken its land for our own.

On this Independence Day weekend, let us stop the foolish path we are on that can only lead to national suicide. Instead, let us renew our deep and abiding love for country, and let us resolve to teach our children patriotism again.

BONNIE PARSLEY lives in Murrieta.