Honoring the Fallen by Defending the Freedoms They Died For

Every year, as Memorial Day approaches, we pause as a nation to remember the men and women who gave everything in service to the United States. These Servicemembers—our brothers, sisters, parents, children, and friends—died believing they were protecting the ideals that define our nation: liberty, justice, and the unalienable right to self-determination. They believed they were fighting for a country that would honor their sacrifice by safeguarding freedom for generations to come.

And yet, as we place flags on graves and solemnly recount their courage, we must ask ourselves a painful question: what happens when the freedoms they died for are slowly, deliberately, and systematically being taken away?

This Memorial Day, we must look beyond the barbecues, the long weekend, and the momentary patriotism. We must look inward and ask what kind of country we are becoming. Because the truth is stark: our government—at both state and federal levels—is actively dismantling the very liberties our Servicemembers swore to defend.

Let’s speak plainly. In recent weeks, Alabama and Texas have passed sweeping bans on Delta-8 and Delta-9 THC products, effectively outlawing any hemp-derived cannabinoid that may offer relief to those seeking natural alternatives to pharmaceuticals. These laws do not target dangerous street drugs or unregulated black-market substances. They target regulated, tested, naturally-derived compounds that many Americans rely on for pain relief, anxiety management, PTSD treatment, and more.

These aren’t fringe compounds. They’re part of a broader movement toward herbal and plant-based autonomy—an idea as old as medicine itself. And they’re being criminalized in broad daylight.

At the same time, Kratom—a plant used for centuries in Southeast Asia and by thousands of Americans today—is once again under legislative attack. Despite mounting evidence that Kratom poses far less risk than pharmaceutical opioids, and offers significant therapeutic benefits, multiple states are dusting off the old playbook and pushing bans that defy science, logic, and compassion.

So, on Memorial Day, we ask: what are we doing?

If the ultimate sacrifice was made in defense of liberty, why is liberty now being buried under bureaucracy, misinformation, and corporate lobbying?

The Civic Leaf exists to shine a light on exactly these kinds of threats. We are not just Kratom consumers. We are veterans, nurses, caregivers, teachers, laborers, and voters. And many of us know the cost of freedom firsthand. Some of us have worn the uniform. Some of us have held our brothers-in-arms as they took their final breath. Some of us have stood graveside in quiet agony, wondering how to honor the memory of a fallen friend.

The answer, we believe, is not just remembrance—it is resistance.

We must resist the false narratives that say Kratom is a danger. We must resist the lawmakers who confuse morality with control. We must resist the corporations who fund prohibition to protect their profits. And most importantly, we must resist the apathy that tells us, “This is just how things are.”

Because this is not how things have to be.

This Memorial Day, The Civic Leaf calls on every American who values freedom to take a stand. Contact your representatives. Educate your neighbors. Speak up in town halls. Share your story online. Demand that your state adopt responsible, science-backed Kratom regulation—not bans. Push for transparency in cannabinoid laws. And question every politician who cloaks authoritarian policy in the language of safety.

Remember: safety and freedom are not mutually exclusive. But when safety is used as a smokescreen for prohibition, it becomes oppression in disguise.

Alabama’s Kratom consumers should not be criminalized for seeking relief from pain. Texans should not be punished for using hemp-derived THC to manage PTSD. Veterans should not be denied access to the very natural remedies that help them survive civilian life. These are real people—many of whom once carried a rifle in service of the very flag that now flutters above their state capitol.

They deserve better. We all do.

We have reached a pivotal moment in this country’s story. The war on natural substances is not just a policy failure—it is a betrayal of the values we claim to uphold. If freedom means anything, it must include the right to make informed choices about what we put in our own bodies. It must include the right to use a plant instead of a pill. It must include the right to seek relief, healing, and wholeness without fear of prosecution.

And if we allow those rights to be taken away—silently, slowly, and without a fight—then we dishonor the memory of every American who died believing they were defending freedom.

Memorial Day is more than a moment of silence. It’s a call to action.

Let us honor the fallen not just with flowers, but with fire. Let us turn grief into purpose, and mourning into movement.

Because freedom isn’t something we inherit.

It’s something we must protect.

And sometimes, protection means saying: Enough.

Enough bans. Enough lies. Enough fearmongering.

This Memorial Day, let us renew our vow—not just to remember the dead, but to fight for the living.

For the ones who never made it home. For the ones trying to hold their lives together here. And for every future generation who deserves to live in a country where liberty still means something.

This is our civic duty. This is The Civic Leaf.