I just can not sit still any longer and not voice how I feel about this upcoming election. This past year I have been truly depressed and disallusional about politics and the direction our country is going. My attention didn't get stirred until I heard the ruckus over John McCain's selection for Vice President. Then I truly listened to what McCain was saying where he placed the value of our country and the direction he intends to take us. We have been ridiculed, targeted by terrorists, and even our own citizens have mocked our country and the situation w find ourselves. As I have stated before, my grandfather fought for our freedoms and the freedoms of a terrorized and agonized world. The domination and threat were the highest ever to our world w/Japan, Hitler and Mussolini. It was a war that needed to be fought and had to be won.
My grandfather was one of many men who served when he legally was classified as too old. He felt an obligation as many men of his generation did and signed up to fight. He survived the war but came back from what I am told a different man. He served in Europe and I believe he saw the most evil acts that man has seen. Granddaddy Never spoke of his experiences. It was too painful and raw. Just before he died, he started to write down his experiences and thoughts of his time served. Unfortunately, his eyesight was lost to a disease that robbed him of his ability to finish his task. Personally, I think that it was supposed to work out that way so he wouldn't have to relive those terrors when faced w/the knowledge of the power his words would hold on typewritten paper. He didn't have to sign up to fight but he loved his country more than fear could hold on him. He grew up a simple man and died a simple man having raised his family and serving his country to the best of his abilities. Family members that served as well came home broken to a very harsh reality of never being able to live life physically like they had once known and enjoyed. Broken nerves and injuries that couldn't be mended had to remind them of their service to their country and the ultimate sacrifice they paid. It has been said that the ultimate sacrifice you can make is dying for the freedoms we enjoy and take for granted. Although I agree with the sentiment.. my mind can't help but think that the ultimate sacrifice is the one where the broken and emotionally scarred soldiers face on a daily basis...in having survived such great horrors. In death, at least there is a finality and peace again. The body and mind are no longer broken. The spirit is able to fly freely and peacefully once again. The shoulda, coulda, and wouldas no longer matter and haunt everyone effected by the collateral damage caused by war.
The place I consider home is made up of a wonderful group of people who immigrated from Czechoslavkia, Germany, and other Slavich countries. They came here to escape
the lost freedoms in a new country that offered them enormous potential. Their roots run so deep that 3 and 4 generations past the immigrated ancestors still own the native countries accent and language. They are proud, hard-working, industrious and tight. The bonds they maintain are incredible. Having said that, I hold so many up in huge esteem for many of those people chose to fight for their new country against many relatives that had become the enemy. They knew their allegiance was for America.. a free and open Republic that bore the labors of their hard work and investment. A friend's grandfather of German descent also fought. He found himself on the short stick when his battalion was overcome by the German forces. When the German soldiers heard him talk, they thought they had accidentally and somehow captured one of their own soldiers. The interesting thing about this story was that he had such a tight and correct accent, they were certain he was German born and raised. On the contrary, his parents or grandparents had immigrated here. He readily admitted that "no, he was an American.. a proud American". He proudly became a POW. His treatment could have been much easier if he had taken the easy way out I'm sure. But he stood by his convictions.
All of this leads me to the question, "Why are we American citizens not asked to sacrifice for this war?" This country came together for a short while right after 9/11. But the wonderful sacrifices and humanity in that tragic event was quickly forgotten all too soon. If we civilians were asked to help out, then this fight could have helped us pull together as a very strong nation fighting a common enemy and focusing on the same task at hand. It feels like I was misled in the reason we targeted Iraq. But, we never do get all of the facts.. And as Jack Nicholson famously said "(We)You can't handle the truth!!".. Would we be acting out so immaturely and distant if we did know all of the terroristic events that have been prevented since 9/11. England and a few other nations have stuck by us in this fight. It leads me to believe there really is more to this story. The media being the media refuses to embark on telling a non bias report to all the good that we have done for others. According to them, there is only one story and it being that we are terrible terrible terrible.
The root of this entire situation to me is we are facing an enemy unlike any we have ever seen. We forget that there is Everything that we hold dear at stake. Our enemy has said that it wants us DEAD.. Everything we stand for as a nation and people would be obliterated if we fail to stop them. And they won't be satisfied until they accomplish their goal. A religious extreme mantra is one unlike any other. We are not being attacked for land or valuable resources. We are being attacked for our way of life, our freedoms and all that we hold dear. They have made their case very clear.
It was so funny to me that when we first went into Iraq, some US citizens flew there to protest our actions. They were standing for Peace at any cost. They even went into the war field from what was being reported to try and hold a protest. What was so amusing to me? They were begging for peace. Suddam Hussein laughed and said thanks. We are so glad you are here. Now go stand in the very front of the line and be the first near US tanks and armory to make a stand. He knew that if they stayed they would be killed. And he was quite happy to see them die. They believed in their cause so much, that they backed down and went away. The price for peace had become too high when it came to their sacrifice to the peace and war effort.
This election really is the most important one of my lifetime I believe. And I can't stand war or conflict. However, the thought of someone coming in and not backing everything we have invested for 232 years is crazy. And it's about time someone did what they said they would do and then follow through. Experience and
wisdom are earned, achieved and never forgotten by those that possess it. We can't afford to take a chance on someone who's political ties and background are very questionable to say the least. We can not fail these next few years. And maybe with the economy taking a nosedive will help the country pull together once again and become a United nation. A pipe dream I am sure, but it's mine.. so I will keep hoping. Again addressing the enormous sacrifices that were made to make this country strong as it is...I fear most that those sacrifices will not be held and they would have given their all in vain. And I will go out on a limb and say that we Americans have become so complacently complacent that we refuse to take responsibility for our expectations. We demand that the govt. be our first, last and everything in between. No open and free government can follow through with those terms. The cost is too high.. We need to stand up and follow through with what we believe in.. And that we waste, consume and expect way more than we are entitled to with all the people of this earth. The WWII generation got it right.. they gave way more than they expected back and I think that made all the difference in the world and the success of our nation.
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