The Words of An Officer and a Gentleman
[taken from a private communication that was sent to me by a dear friend of mine]
I have worn the uniform of the United States Air Force for nearly thirty years now. I have on my blue blouse--the blouse that I wear on special occasions--eagles that were worn by my father-in-law during WWII. He also served for thirty years, retiring in 1959. Whenever I wear them, I am reminded seriously that I have to be better than ordinary men in all actions in my professional and personal life. Why? Because I represent him, other airmen, soldiers, sailors and marines who have served before and my compatriots who serve now. I cannot let him down. I cannot let down those who have given their lives and spilt their blood for this country and for liberty everywhere. To me, it is that simple, that clear, that fundamental an obligation. Truth is not complex, my friends. It is so simple and common that to declare it usually brings only yawns and derision from the intellectual effete and from the weak and pampered who would rather consume liberty than defend it.
These eagles have been around the world, to sixty countries at last count. I have seen oppression, hunger, complete suppression of basic liberties, people whose only apparent sins were to have been born in Rwanda, China, Iraq, Egypt, Afghanistan and other sink holes of liberty around the world. I have worked with people whose cultures, religions, and experiences have told them that pragmatism and survival instinct are the ultimate virtues. I have seen individual liberty as an exalting concept, as a human condition worth struggle and sacrifice, be extinguished after generations of oppression.
I have visited the empty churches in Western Europe, discussed with the lapsed Christians their hand-wringing yet apparent lack of real concern for the rise of militant Islam in their lands. I have visited the mosques of the Middle East and felt the life, however harsh, and I have seen the difference between the hollow, brittle, dessicated life of the Christian West and the virulent, hard, dedicated Islamic wave in Europe and elsewhere. The hollow West is borne of selfish living in a protected environment--under an umbrella that the U.S. built with the dedication and sacrifice of several generations of military posted in far-flung lands. Burgeoning Islam is borne of oppression, hardship for the people, and a persecution complex that drives them beyond what happy people would ever do. The vanguard of the movement is hardened and willing to sacrifice. There is life--compelling life--, however misguided, in the Islamic and the militant Islamic movements. There also is a culture of intolerance and oppression imbuing the movement with strength. Such intolerance gives the fighters, and their less-than-apologetic leaders, an easy excuse to commit and condone horrible acts. Whoever wins the conflict of civilizations--because that is indeed what this is--will do so with commitment and hard-nosed focus. I regret that I see little such hard-nosed focus in so many who ask for our votes and loyalty.
I have worked with people in other cultures whose virulent racism toward all other peoples cannot be described in any polite, western terms. We only think we have racist views and action in the U.S. We are ashamed amateurs in the racist game--thank goodness for that. I have worked in countries where the worth of a life is determined by race, culture, family, and personal survival--never by any other principle. Unspeakable deprivation of personal rights and liberties, as well as the easy killing of thousands of people by power mongers whose only focus is on retaining power, is the norm. The people understand the conditions, and they adjust personally. The result is death of the individual spirit and the subjugation of minorities and people of good will on a level unthinkable in the West.
I have met people who understand power in the world. They understand it and would kill me without hesitation if they thought it would further their cause even an iota--all the while eating a sandwich for lunch. These men and women were on every continent I have visited. Dead, cold eyes revealing dead, cold, souls. Men and women whose lives are sold to power--the acquisition and retention thereof. I have worked with officers from scores of countries who admit that power is expressed in its most telestial form from the end of a gun and most advantageously used against the weak and oppressed. These officers also admit, however grudgingly, that AMERICA is the only hope for peace and stability in the world. They know, in their sad and hollow hearts, that their countries will only follow such a righteous movement if compelled to do so. No praise will ever come from their lips for our sacrifice, only silence when our soldiers faithfully fall in defense of their liberties.
I also have met people who know that families in war-torn countries would huddle in their cellars, behind false walls, praying for the AMERICANS to come and save them. I know of people who know that AMERICA, and HER AMERICAN SERVICEMEMBERS are truly the saviors of the world--or, at least, their small corner of it. They hug us and praise us. The sun rises [in] their faces, no matter the color of their skin, when they think of those who have saved them. Alas, they still cannot rid their lands of the corruption that required our intervention and sacrifice. They weep when we leave. They want to follow us to AMERICA. They all want to follow us to AMERICA.
I have tried to work with Americans who don't understand that the only force that keeps the world from sinkiing into a dark abyss of chaos, oppression, and death is our--AMERICA'S--selfless willingness to not only protect our interests throughout the world, but to protect others' freedoms as well. As I have told so many foreign officers over the years: Natural man dictates that there is struggle until a major power creates stability and peace. What power do you want that to be? Russia? China? France? Japan? India? Islam in any of its intolerant renditions in the world? No. They all are silent in response. They all have known that the U.S.--AMERICA--is the only power the world has ever known that cares less about land than it does about principle.
The ground where AMERICAN servicemen have fallen in their altuistic charge is indeed sacred. The ground where they are buried throughout the world and in the small towns of AMERICA is sacred. Therefore, those who try to wish away the realities of the world should never lead this country. Those who think that AMERICA should apologize for its power or for its dedication to principles of individual freedom and individual accomplishment and cultural inclusiveness by adoption of our principles should never be voted into positions where they would most assuredly desecrate the holy ground where their protectors lie. So many in our society think that the truth, and its expression, is trite and cliched. But, I defy them in all I do and represent. With all my heart and soul, with all the experience in my adult life throughout the world, I declare to all who will listen: FREEDOM ISN'T FREE!!
I am most honored to stand with those who have paid for that freedom--generations in the past and those today. I am most honored that it has been my obligation to go where ordered and to defend freedom and AMERICA. Along with my belief in God and my love for my family, this has given me life. Only the fulfillment of such obligations is life-giving. Just look at the dead, hollow culture around us--in the world and in our towns--to see that.
Sorry for the rantings. An old airmen sometimes gets carried away.
I have worn the uniform of the United States Air Force for nearly thirty years now. I have on my blue blouse--the blouse that I wear on special occasions--eagles that were worn by my father-in-law during WWII. He also served for thirty years, retiring in 1959. Whenever I wear them, I am reminded seriously that I have to be better than ordinary men in all actions in my professional and personal life. Why? Because I represent him, other airmen, soldiers, sailors and marines who have served before and my compatriots who serve now. I cannot let him down. I cannot let down those who have given their lives and spilt their blood for this country and for liberty everywhere. To me, it is that simple, that clear, that fundamental an obligation. Truth is not complex, my friends. It is so simple and common that to declare it usually brings only yawns and derision from the intellectual effete and from the weak and pampered who would rather consume liberty than defend it.
These eagles have been around the world, to sixty countries at last count. I have seen oppression, hunger, complete suppression of basic liberties, people whose only apparent sins were to have been born in Rwanda, China, Iraq, Egypt, Afghanistan and other sink holes of liberty around the world. I have worked with people whose cultures, religions, and experiences have told them that pragmatism and survival instinct are the ultimate virtues. I have seen individual liberty as an exalting concept, as a human condition worth struggle and sacrifice, be extinguished after generations of oppression.
I have visited the empty churches in Western Europe, discussed with the lapsed Christians their hand-wringing yet apparent lack of real concern for the rise of militant Islam in their lands. I have visited the mosques of the Middle East and felt the life, however harsh, and I have seen the difference between the hollow, brittle, dessicated life of the Christian West and the virulent, hard, dedicated Islamic wave in Europe and elsewhere. The hollow West is borne of selfish living in a protected environment--under an umbrella that the U.S. built with the dedication and sacrifice of several generations of military posted in far-flung lands. Burgeoning Islam is borne of oppression, hardship for the people, and a persecution complex that drives them beyond what happy people would ever do. The vanguard of the movement is hardened and willing to sacrifice. There is life--compelling life--, however misguided, in the Islamic and the militant Islamic movements. There also is a culture of intolerance and oppression imbuing the movement with strength. Such intolerance gives the fighters, and their less-than-apologetic leaders, an easy excuse to commit and condone horrible acts. Whoever wins the conflict of civilizations--because that is indeed what this is--will do so with commitment and hard-nosed focus. I regret that I see little such hard-nosed focus in so many who ask for our votes and loyalty.
I have worked with people in other cultures whose virulent racism toward all other peoples cannot be described in any polite, western terms. We only think we have racist views and action in the U.S. We are ashamed amateurs in the racist game--thank goodness for that. I have worked in countries where the worth of a life is determined by race, culture, family, and personal survival--never by any other principle. Unspeakable deprivation of personal rights and liberties, as well as the easy killing of thousands of people by power mongers whose only focus is on retaining power, is the norm. The people understand the conditions, and they adjust personally. The result is death of the individual spirit and the subjugation of minorities and people of good will on a level unthinkable in the West.
I have met people who understand power in the world. They understand it and would kill me without hesitation if they thought it would further their cause even an iota--all the while eating a sandwich for lunch. These men and women were on every continent I have visited. Dead, cold eyes revealing dead, cold, souls. Men and women whose lives are sold to power--the acquisition and retention thereof. I have worked with officers from scores of countries who admit that power is expressed in its most telestial form from the end of a gun and most advantageously used against the weak and oppressed. These officers also admit, however grudgingly, that AMERICA is the only hope for peace and stability in the world. They know, in their sad and hollow hearts, that their countries will only follow such a righteous movement if compelled to do so. No praise will ever come from their lips for our sacrifice, only silence when our soldiers faithfully fall in defense of their liberties.
I also have met people who know that families in war-torn countries would huddle in their cellars, behind false walls, praying for the AMERICANS to come and save them. I know of people who know that AMERICA, and HER AMERICAN SERVICEMEMBERS are truly the saviors of the world--or, at least, their small corner of it. They hug us and praise us. The sun rises [in] their faces, no matter the color of their skin, when they think of those who have saved them. Alas, they still cannot rid their lands of the corruption that required our intervention and sacrifice. They weep when we leave. They want to follow us to AMERICA. They all want to follow us to AMERICA.
I have tried to work with Americans who don't understand that the only force that keeps the world from sinkiing into a dark abyss of chaos, oppression, and death is our--AMERICA'S--selfless willingness to not only protect our interests throughout the world, but to protect others' freedoms as well. As I have told so many foreign officers over the years: Natural man dictates that there is struggle until a major power creates stability and peace. What power do you want that to be? Russia? China? France? Japan? India? Islam in any of its intolerant renditions in the world? No. They all are silent in response. They all have known that the U.S.--AMERICA--is the only power the world has ever known that cares less about land than it does about principle.
The ground where AMERICAN servicemen have fallen in their altuistic charge is indeed sacred. The ground where they are buried throughout the world and in the small towns of AMERICA is sacred. Therefore, those who try to wish away the realities of the world should never lead this country. Those who think that AMERICA should apologize for its power or for its dedication to principles of individual freedom and individual accomplishment and cultural inclusiveness by adoption of our principles should never be voted into positions where they would most assuredly desecrate the holy ground where their protectors lie. So many in our society think that the truth, and its expression, is trite and cliched. But, I defy them in all I do and represent. With all my heart and soul, with all the experience in my adult life throughout the world, I declare to all who will listen: FREEDOM ISN'T FREE!!
I am most honored to stand with those who have paid for that freedom--generations in the past and those today. I am most honored that it has been my obligation to go where ordered and to defend freedom and AMERICA. Along with my belief in God and my love for my family, this has given me life. Only the fulfillment of such obligations is life-giving. Just look at the dead, hollow culture around us--in the world and in our towns--to see that.
Sorry for the rantings. An old airmen sometimes gets carried away.
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