We’ve reached what is casually considered to be the start of the summer vacation season.

The kids are out of or about to get out of school. The days are getting longer. The grills are out in full force.

But today is a time to take a moment to reflect on those freedoms we enjoy as Americans to live in a place where we can consider vacations and picnics and good weather as harbingers of good days.

That freedom has come at a steep price, and today, Memorial Day, is a time to consider that price, paid in the lives of generations of people who have died to preserve the American ideal.

Today is a day not to complain, not to worry about that which divides us as Americans. We are not Democrats or Republicans. We are not conservatives or liberals or progressives. We are not Christians, Jews, Muslims or atheists. We are Americans, unified and thankful.

As a nation, we bicker over the debt ceiling while we study a budget that shows an astronomical number owed.

But we can never lose sight of the fact that the freedom to hold that debate is the result of the ultimate unpayable debt, the sacrifice of life that has been made in the cause of the nation, to preserve the United States of America.

Hundreds of thousands of young men and women have answered — and still answer — the call to duty to defend the nation, to represent its best interests and ideals and to be of service to those in need anywhere on the face of the earth in the name of the United States. It’s not just about war. It’s about assistance. It’s about aiding nations and people who need someone to stand up for them.

It’s about taking on a responsibility knowing full well that the sacrifice to be paid could include being in harm’s way, and falling in the name of the nation while fighting the enemies of freedom around the globe.

We honor those who have paid that ultimate price today with a sense of honor and dignity and purpose, and should strive to live lives worthy of that sacrifice that has been made all too often.

Take a moment today. Attend a community Memorial Day event or just say a prayer of gratitude or spend a moment thinking of what it means to have others who have been willing to lay down their lives for all of us.