We Honor

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On this Weekend of Memorial, we honor those who have served and fallen in defense of liberty and justice for all.

From the founding of this nation by those brash young upstarts, our founding fathers and mothers and their families who sacrificed much, we remember the times of honor of this nation…and the not-honorable times, that leave a Trail of Tears which also must never be forgotten. Our own fathers and mothers served, too—in the War to End All Wars and the Greatest Generation and the bitter cold of Korea and the heat of Viet Nam.

We honor their legacy of service in defense of this nation.

Our sons and daughters serve today, too many fallen, too many maimed, too many home in body but not in spirit. We watch Arlington on CNN, but are mind-full of Walter Reed and rehabilitation centers in San Antonio, and Florida, and triage hospitals in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the great global hospitals like Reinsdorf and Tripler, where medical teams work relentlessly to stabilize the wounded so they may come home for healing.

The nation, too, is in sore need of healing right now.

This weekend, as more Americans choose what CNN has dubbed “staycations” instead of “vacations,” we are mind-full of the deep debt we all owe those who put life and limb on the line in service of this nation’s defense and their families.

We honor the Senators who put forth the 21st Century G.I. Bill, a modest “thank you” for those who give so much.

We reject and shun the mindset that says “we don’t need to do anything more” whether it comes to that education bill or payroll or… the mindset that says we must take great pallets of dollars and drop them in the pockets of Iraqis who turn around and turn those dollars into weapons to use against us. We reject those leaders who still stubbornly hold to their vote in support of this Iraq War.

We have squandered much in lives and national treasure on this current war. This weekend, take time to remember the honorable service of our troops, and honor them not just in words, but in deeds. Bring them home…alive and whole…now.

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Call this a modest proposal in support of our troops and the security of the nation: Slow Down this Summer. Drive under 60. Go ahead, it won’t hurt you. After all, you’re cutting down your distance travel, so driving under 60 won’t take longer than you were willing to spend going farther away.

Since nobody else seems able…or lacks the will to cut the high cost of oil lest oil barons and sheikhs have to give up their gold-plated palaces, you be the change. It doesn’t have to be just politics, you know. We can start from the bottom up and accomplish honorable things.

Slow Down this Summer…the ‘roots way to support the troops…and stick it to the Greedy Oil Pushers.