Good afternoon my brothers and sisters! I hope you all had a wonderful July 4th and celebrated our country’s birthday with style! As for me; just hung out with family and friends. I digress; the reason for today’s post is an email my father sent. My father is very careful about sending spam and chain letters; and he only forwards those that I’ll appreciate, like this one — I’m sure you all have seen it, it is a common chain letter it reads as follows:
Subject: Fw: thought about Michael Jackson’s death:
{often there is a line here about being written from someone in a combat zone} I was just watching the news, and I caught part of a report on Michael Jackson . As we all know, Jackson died the other day. He was an entertainer who performed for decades. He made millions, he spent millions, and he did a lot of things that make him a villain to many people. I understand that his death would affect a lot of people, and I respect those people who mourn his death, but that isn’t the point of my rant. Why is it that when ONE man dies, the whole of America loses their minds with grief. When a man dies whose only contribution to the country was to entertain people, the American people find the need to flock to a memorial in Hollywood, and even Congress sees the need to hold a “moment of silence” for his passing. Am I missing something here? ONE man dies, and all of a sudden he’s a freaking martyr because he entertained us for a few decades? What about all those soldiers {marines/sailors/airman} who have died to give us freedom? All those Soldiers who, knowing that they would be asked to fight in a war, still raised their hands and swore to defend the Constitution and the United States of America. Where is their moment of silence? Where are the people flocking to their graves or memorials and mourning over them because they made the ultimate sacrifice? {Edited for brevity} When did this country become so calloused to the sacrifice of good men and women, that they can arbitrarily blow off their deaths, and instead, throw themselves into mourning for a “Pop Icon?” I think that if they are going to hold a moment of silence in Congress for Michael Jackson, they need to hold a moment of silence for every service member killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. {Edited for brevity} But, wait, that would take too much time, because there have been so many willing to make that sacrifice. After all, we {in military service} will never make millions of dollars. We will never star in movies, or write hit songs that the world will listen too. We only shed our blood, sweat and tears so that people can enjoy what they have. Sorry if I have offended, but I needed to say it. Feel free to pass this along if you want. Remember these five words the next time you think of someone who is serving in the military; “So that others may live…”
I thought “So that others may live…” was a pretty powerful statement, don’t often think that those who serve (and have served) put their own personal freedoms on hold so the general populace of this great land are free to pursue their dreams. It really is a pimple on my ass when we celebrate one individual; when there are heroes living amongst us now. Now for those of you who don’t know me; I am a proud veteran; most of my friends are veterans and I think their values as a whole far outweigh the “what’s in for me” values of politicians and other famous non-veterans. Remember that each veteran, no matter the service or his particular job in the service, wrote a check payable with his/her life to the Constitution of the United States. To the leaders of this great land, I ask you: spend this currency wisely. I’ve used up enough of your time – I hope each and everyone of you enjoys your day; and cherish those that you love.
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