Month: May 2011

It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died…

It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather, we should thank God that such men lived. -General George S. Patton, June 7, 1945

Many writers will chastise Americans today for spending too much time on barbequing and not enough time remembering the sacrifices that this day is set aside to memorialize. I’m not one of those. We each remember in our own way, and I would submit that many of those fallen servicemembers would prefer that they be remembered, not in somber ceremonies, but in celebrations of the American way of life.

I served my country for 23 years, and while proud of that fact, I also will tell you that I’m humbled by the opportunity, and don’t feel that anyone owes me anything. I chose to serve, and knew full well the potential outcomes. I am eternally grateful for all who served before me, with me, and those who have served since. I honor each and every one of them, and particularly honor those who gave their lives. This nation is unique in the world, both present and historically, and that uniqueness has much to do with the character of its citizens, who respond to the call of freedom, and make the necessary sacrifices to preserve freedom, not for glory, but out of a sense of selfless service.

Three days ago, six men from one of my old units, the 101st Pathfinder Company (now Co F (Pathfinder), 159th Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)), joined the ranks of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. 1LT John M. Runkle, SSG Edward Mills, SSG Ergin Osman, SGT Louie Ramosvelazquez, SGT Thomas Bohall, and SPC Adam Patton died in combat in Afghanistan May 26th, just a few months short of their rotation home. I never knew them, but I thank God that they lived.

Remember them today as you celebrate Memorial Day.

Semper Primus(“Always First”, the motto of the 101st Pathfinders).

Modern English Definitions

We all know that language is constantly evolving. Here is my understanding of the new definition for several familiar English words in prevalent use today:

Liar: Someone who does not assent to my understanding of reality

Cheater: Someone who appears to have circumstances more favorable than mine who has not yet assented to yield their advantage to me

Truth: The understanding of circumstances that best suits my needs at the time

Justice: 1) Seeing all the cheaters suffer; 2) Getting the opportunity to make someone else’s circumstances worse than mine

What do all these new definitions have in common? They are all egocentric. These concepts are no longer defined by an absolute standard, but instead are defined by comparison with the speaker’s condition.

Narcissism is a related psychological concept. I’ve done almost zero research on this, but I propose that US society (collectively and individually) is suffering from some form of egocentricity or narcissism.

Check this list of narcissistic traits:

*An obvious self-focus in interpersonal exchanges
*Problems in sustaining satisfying relationships
*A lack of psychological awareness
*Difficulty with empathy
*Problems distinguishing the self from others
*Hypersensitivity to any sleights or imagined insults
*Vulnerability to shame rather than guilt (if you’re having trouble envisioning this one, picture the response of any recently arrested public figure)
*Flattery towards people who admire and affirm him or her
*Detesting those who do not admire him or her
*Using other people without considering the cost to them of his or her doing so
*Pretending to be more important than he or she is
*Bragging (subtly but persistently) and exaggerating his or her achievements
*Inability to view the world from the perspective of other people

See our culture in these descriptions? See your friends, co-workers, neighbors?

See yourself?

If you don’t, you’re probably wasting your time reading this.

If you have this really heavy feeling in your gut right now, welcome to my reality.

In Luke 9:23, Jesus says: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Deny yourself–no wonder Jesus is having trouble finding people who want to be his disciple in America today.

In the Garden, the Serpent tempted Eve by telling her that eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would make her eyes opened, and that she would be “like God, knowing good and evil.” I don’t believe this means she would be able to recognize good and evil. Rather, I believe she would be able to define good and evil. Eve didn’t get in trouble for breaking God’s rule, she tried to take his throne! She was tempted (and responded to the temptation) to define good and evil from her perspective, rather than accepting and submitting to God’s definition. And no, I’m not just beating up Eve; Adam was right there, and joined right in. And so have I.

A lot of people in our country today are fed up with “those other guys”. Some are actually mad enough to do something about it.

I’m fed up with me. I pray that Jesus will do something about it.

3519 Days

3519 days ago, some cowards committed a heinous attack on unknowing, innocent people. Their leader was an evil man, set on imposing his own brand of religion on the world, and on destroying the nation we live in. 3519 days ago, our nation vowed to put a stop to this man and his band of brutal, hateful people.

3519 days ago, one of my closest friends died at the hands of these murderers. For 3519 days, I’ve been boiling on the inside. An honorable man was dead, while a dishonorable man sneered. The Arab world sneered.

3519 days ago, many opponents of our nation cheered at the death blow we’d been dealt. America was bleeding, and our opponents knew that we didn’t have the wherewithal or the national courage to finish what they’d started. See, if you don’t understand the Eastern mindset, you don’t understand that they were winning in Iraq and Afghanistan. Because no matter how many we killed, no matter how many elections we sponsored, or wells we dug, as long as this pestilence escaped our grasp, we were losing face. It’s a Middle Eastern thing, that no matter how much we Americans try, we can’t comprehend it, because they think differently than we do. Not wrong, just different, so it’s illogical to us. The Israelis understand this. They’ve demonstrated over the last 50 years that to earn respect in the Middle East you’ve got to seek peace, but demonstrate that you will respond with superior force and see your goals through, no matter the cost. President Reagan understood this–in 1986, Libyan-supported terrorists bombed a disco in Berlin, so he bombed Qaddafi’s home, among other targets. Libya suddenly became eerily quiet with regard to sponsoring or supporting terrorism against the US.

Today, the Arabs learned a lesson. The USA will respond, and will see the task through. It took 3519 days, but that face of evil was just removed from the earth.

Tomorrow, when the next group of terrorists starts planning, they’ll do it with the knowledge that the US military can get them anytime, anywhere, with cruise missiles and drones, or with a few highly trained American soldiers who will fly hundreds of miles into badguy-land to look them in the eyes and put a cap in their skull. And those 72 virgins, or whatever their own personal cause-worth-dying-for might be, won’t look quite so attractive.

5939 American service members gave their life in the defense of this nation in the Afghan and Iraqi theaters in the last 3519 days. Almost 6000 died, many thousands more are permanently wounded. Roughly the equivalent of the population of five high schools the size of my daughter’s…most of them were not much older than she is now.

3519 days ago, the USA was permanently changed. Today, the world’s view of the USA was permanently changed as well.

To the thousands of service members who have given a measure of sacrifice that most US citizens can’t even comprehend, I say “Thank you.”

To a few dedicated, anonymous heroes who had the honor of performing a mission into Pakistan, not knowing for sure what the outcome would be, I say “Hooah. Nice shooting.”