“Somebody’s Son”

“God doesn’t call us to success; He calls us to faithfulness.”
-Mother Teresa

There was a parade in town last week, but the only thing missing were the balloons. The kids received the day off from school, and the townsfolk lined the streets to give a warm welcome home to a local hero. The young man wasn’t honored for having won an academic or athletic honors, no, that happens all the time in this little town. Many are its sons and daughters who have gone off to enjoy fame and fortune in many endeavors. He could’ve been anyone’s kid; but he was somebody’s son.

This young man was honored for having given a lot more: himself.

It was a spectacular early autumn day, not a cloud in the sky and everywhere you looked, Old Glory was fluttering. Kids and grownups patiently waited on sidewalks for the procession to arrive, and shortly after 1:00, the various color guards and drum and bagpipe bands slowly made their way up the boulevard from the church to the young man’s final resting place. Then, a horse drawn carriage bearing a flag draped coffin passed by, and there was silence. The funeral cortege of family, friends and government officials followed solemnly behind…it was a truly unforgettable scene, breathtakingly profound in its understated dignity. And, within a matter of moments, it was over. The kids went back to their adventures of the day and traffic in the busy neighborhood resumed. Life went on, though America is surely the lesser without the presence of this young man.

Scenes such as this play out across America practically every day now. We bring home the very best this nation has to offer in flag-draped coffins before we commit them to their native soil. Some people would regard this young man’s death as a tragic waste. I consider his death as a tragic loss. I do not profess to understand war; accordingly, I defer to the perspectives of those who have experienced its horrors. Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.” There is not one soldier, sailor, Marine or airman I have spoken with whose experiences with armed conflict were not filled with tremendous grief and sadness. They felt a sense of duty to their country, and when called to serve, did so without reservation. While many of these men expressed varying degrees of frustration regarding certain (and extremely unpleasant) aspects of the experience, there was virtual unanimity that it was a privilege to serve and to wear the uniform.

There are legitimate questions as to whether committing ground troops to Iraq were proper. Perhaps a discussion of these issues is more appropriate for a time and place other than honoring a young man’s sacrifice. Notwithstanding, in the wake of 9/11, bringing down a genocidal maniac who was a destabilizing force in the region seemed like a pretty good idea. The Congress thought so; otherwise they would not have signed off on the deal.

The American Eagle grasps an olive branch with one of its talons, because every avenue of diplomacy needs to be pursued to exhaustion prior to exercising the military option. And every form of diplomatic recourse was exercised prior to the first bomb having been dropped. The regime was toppled quickly and everyone was happy. It has been the rebuilding process that has not gone according to the policy wonks’ plans. Apparently they figured that once the bully was deposed, everyone would be happy. Perhaps they did not count on the resumption of “sectarian warfare” in the power vacuum that followed. It seems like Uncle Sam is in a pretty intractable spot. What will it take to establish a democratic republic comprised of warring factions? Is it even possible?

The nature of this culture is such that it’s uncomfortable with the very notion that war includes sacrifice from all its citizens, not just the boots on the ground. Discomfort is appropriate, though not by the inconveniences but the threat that’s confronting us. Putting the relative merits and criticisms of exercising military force aside, I will take issue with the Administration’s failure to adequately convince the citizenry that we are at war. There have been no shortages or rationing of food, utilities or supplies. Unless you’ve got family or friends who got called up to serve, the connection is remote, at best.

Fear is not an emotional state from which people derive well-being, however, once a commitment has been made, it must be carried out until all of the objectives have been realized. Whether we choose to accept it, there is a fascist threat that seeks to destroy our Nation, our Constitution and our way of life. The fascists brought it to the house—our house—on 9/11. We continue to engage diplomatic solutions, but we are confronted with an enemy which is unable to see human interaction in terms beyond the Eighth Century. A culture that regards women lower than beasts of burden. For the majority of the Islamic states, diplomacy is simply part of their rope-a-dope endgame strategy. I choose to be free. Meanwhile, most Americans just want the matter put to bed in time to catch the next ballgame, as if war is just another “Reality TV” program. While we all pray for the quick and safe return of our fighting men and women, it is myopic to think that bringing everyone home next week would solve the problem. The simple fact is running from tyranny only hastens the inevitability of conquest. In our hectic daily lives, we sometimes lose sight of the gravity of the situation we’re in. Public tributes to a fallen young man painfully remind us now and again.

Whether you’re Democrat or Republican, you're required to accept that we will require some good ol' “American Resolve” to squarely meet this threat (unless you choose to live in La-La Land). Yeah, it’s part of the price for being free. So, stop getting played by the politicos and think of the values that bind all of us together. Demand from your government that its first and primary responsibility is to ensure the safety of its People from foreign and domestic threats. Everything else that government does, no matter how noble, is secondary.

We don’t need seditious jerkoffs like Olbermann or Stewart standing before the cameras with their nightly diatribes against the Executive Branch. Hey you two, slither on outta here and get your laughs back at the sports page and the nightclubs where you belong. We don’t need to suffer fools like you in times like these. They (among many others) are unfit to carry the boots of the young man who came home last week. This is not a moment for levity, folks. Not when kids are coming home in boxes.

So while certain people spit upon and mock the brave (whose sacrifices enabled the fortunate to carry on blithely in their absence), the gift of those who placed themselves in harm’s way so that we could enjoy the fruits of the American Experiment can never be forgotten. They are our American Heroes. May their names and deeds be etched into our collective consciousness.