United we must stand or divided shall we fall
It was twenty three years ago that I took the “Oath of Enlistment” but like many of my buddies who joined for college money, to get away from home or to “broaden their horizons”, I truly felt it was my duty because of the patriotism I felt and which is still a strong part of my life today. Dad, who was a sailor in the U.S. Navy explained to me that there was need for such men in the world. Ordinary men willing to do extraordinary things; Those that believed in liberty and justice. Men that would be willing to fight and die for that most noble cause. Not for one’s sake or for the sake of his kin, but for the sake of us all.
I took those teachings to heart as a young boy and now just recently turning 42, my fathers words still ring true. Nine years I served and what a time it was. Many fond memories of my life are captured in that small span of time and how I yearn for those days again. Being a soldier is something that will forever be a part of who I am and I’m very proud of serving our country. Something I’m even more proud of is my family as you can see. They’re the world to this old grunt and I’ll do anything to keep them safe even if it were to mean my own demise.
More now than ever I believe many of us feel that same way. Humanity’s mettle is being tested, Americans are becoming ever more weary and afraid of the future and what may lay ahead. A lot of us prepare for the worst. Will we live under the umbrella of tyranny? Will more Americans be willing to forfeit their freedoms for security? Will we be stripped of our right to bear arms as guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment? Will our failures be passed down to our children? I surely hope not.
The U.S. Constitution and The Bill of Rights are THE instruments that have held this nation’s government in check and allowed us to pursue greener pastures for 223 years, but there are those today that mean to defile it, to make it’s worth seem far less than what it is. As BG Anthony C. McAuliffe said in reply to the Germans demand of surrender during the “Battle of the Bulge”, “NUTS!”. I wholeheartedly agree and I’m sure you do as well. Many before us have shed their blood and given their lives for the freedom that we enjoy today. Many young men and women are out there right now doing that very thing. We must honor them all and do the same for the generations that will surely follow us. For our children, our grandchildren, our great grandchildren and those we cannot even think of.
We cannot fail in this and must do all that we can to protect our freedoms. Call or write your Congressman, Senators, Governors, and even our President when an issue you feel is outside the scope of what our founders wanted for us. Get involved in rallies and town hall meetings and VOTE. Have a voice. We the people are the masters of our own fate. However, if all else fails, then we must prepare to do those extraordinary things as did the founders of America. United we must stand or divided shall we fall.
God Bless America!
Manny
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February 9th, 2010 at 11:33 pm
Manny: this might be the only organization in the history of our Country that is in a position to impose its will, validate our Founding Fathers’ values, and protect the greatest documents ever written by just saying “no.” How great is this country? The people that put their faith in us are the exact ones that we protect. We work for THEM. We’re honored to do it. We work for each other and we’re honored to do it. We don’t want to TAKE anything. We want to make sure they keep everything they have and the government remains in check. If this isn’t an example of the greatest country with an idea, an ideology, and a nation that creates and protects freedoms and produces people like us by the thousands who are trained and taught not to TAKE from its citizens, but to protect them from tyranny of government, the tyranny of the majority, then I don’t know what is. Where else in the world could you possibly find more people willing to give all so that their fellow citizens wouldn’t have to? How great is this country that it produces people that willingly sacrifice for others with their own free will, no indocrination, no brainwashing, no pressures from outside sources? We do it because we CHOOSE to do it. Free will is the most powerful thing in the Universe. Other countries can produce zombies that have no choice, people that have no alternatives, and desparate people that have to flail away in an effort to survive and will do anything they are told to do. In reality we’ve NEVER lost a war and we never will because of this phenominom. We certainly won’t let a bunch of elitist idealogues lead our country into a place where we are no different than any other country. We’re not.
To think we would allow something like that to happen is ridiculous. Once I saw that there were thousands more like me that thought the same way I did, I wasn’t worried anymore. We’ll be fine.