WWIII: The Enemy is Within...

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves...

No, our sixteenth president was not a fortune teller; he didn’t have some crazy crystal ball and he could not see into the future. Yet Abraham Lincoln was a man of great wisdom and even greater leadership principles. These words are heavy on my mind and burned into my soul on this, the thirteenth anniversary of the start of World War Three. Yes, you read that right; World War Three. When the Twin Towers fell and our pansy-assed, second worst president of this century sat reading to preschoolers, our nation was thrust into a war unlike any this planet has ever seen. And the worst enemy is not a terrorist (Or “enemy combatant” for you PC sheep out there) nor is it another nation, or even a specific religious belief.

No. The United States of America’s worst enemy is well, the United States of America. Not since the first shots were fired on April 12^th, 1861 has our once great nation been on the verge of total self-destruction. Shots aren’t being fired this time, at least not in the form of hot lead. Unlike past wars where the battle lines were drawn and we knew where to find the enemy and hand him his ass, (See June 6^th, 1944, August 6^th, 1945; et al.) we are at war with ourselves and within ourselves.

Rather than a specific battle line, I see an invisible yet very real grid, trapping each and every one of us in a figurative cage of Intolerance, Indifference and Ignorance. Just those three words can sum up the weapons we are using against ourselves with much more devastating effect than anything a terrorist group can come up with.

Indifference.

A man named Craig Bronaugh, Fire Chief in Maywood, Illinois; had suspended four of his firefighters for displaying the American Flag on their lockers and on their helmets. Ridiculous at any time of year, even more ridiculous in the days before the anniversary of the Attacks of 9/11/01. Even more bewildering is the excuse given by the chief; he saw the American Flag as a symbol of racism. The American Flag has been declared a racist symbol... Yet as a nation, we hand over the right to burn the flag as an expression of Freedom of Speech. So burning The Flag as an expression of freedom is a-ok but displaying a flag as a sign of reverence is now deemed offensive. The worst part of it is, on September 12^th we will go back to our daily lives of internet memes, candy-farm-casino-bird-games, “click like to save this kid from cancer” posts and other shallow, nonproductive pastimes. We’ll forget about the Maywood Fire department. And that indifference is the small-arms weapons in this Civil Cold War of ours.

Intolerance.

Now this term, along with way too many others these days; is often misused. In a country where the right to have our own views used to be one of our cornerstones, having your own opinions are now considered intolerance by at least one person/group/demographic. And no, I’m not about to open that particular can of worms. At least not today. Today I will talk about the intolerance of our National Values and the intolerance shown the men and women of our Armed Forces.

Some of you may have heard of a man named Lieutenant Colonel Sherwood Baker. Lt. Col. Baker arrived at Adams High School in Rochester Hills, Michigan earlier this week to discuss his daughter’s class schedule. A two-war veteran, Lt. Col Baker was denied entry by school security due to the fact he was wearing his United States Army uniform. Their reason? The appearance of an American Soldier, in an American school, on American soil was against district policy, as it might offend some students. I am curious to know who they were worried about offending.

 In a later apology ‘issued’ by the school district, it was stated that the policy was misunderstood. I could understand how one person misunderstood the policy, but Lt Col Baker was told of the policy by four other school employees. And there you have it. Uniformed American soldiers have their rights stripped away, the very rights their forefathers fought and died for. I’ve heard the phrase “Love thy enemies” but this is getting ridiculous. The ass-kissing we give to foreign cultures while vilifying our own are the figurative tanks in this war on ourselves.

Ignorance.

Kim and Kanye. Ray Rice. Justin G**damn Bieber. This culture is so celebrity obsessed, we are absolutely ignorant to the things that really matter, things that not only affect us but will affect our grandchildren and their grandchildren. This ignorance is the A-Bomb on our American Way of Life. “Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?” indeed.

Do you hear that whirring sound? It’s the sound of men like George Washington, Joshua Chamberlain, Alvin York and Jimmy Doolittle spinning in their graves. Do you hear the faint clapping sound beyond that? It’s the sound of Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden doing high-fives in Hell because where they failed, our Culture of Indifference, Intolerance and Ignorance is on the fast track to success.

I don’t know where it will lead, where it will end. But I do know this: the battlegrounds of WWIII are in the choices we make, the things we admire and the things we ignore, making Lincoln’s words not a warning but a prophecy…

 

Happy Birthday America: Part 2

Three years ago I wrote a piece titled “Happy Birthday America”. Its inception was rooted in some thoughts I had just after the attacks of 9/11/01; stating how a country of children and grandchildren raised on John Wayne and Babe Ruth; Billy the Kid and General Patton and other larger-than-life yet real figures could never be destroyed by outside forces. It also stated my belief that the two-party political system is flawed; mainly in that many Americans will not think or even develop an opinion until they hear what their chosen party has to say. If you’re so inclined, here it is again;

www.facebook.com/notes/rebuilding-rudy/happy-birthday-america/196993267034217

Above all else, it stated my belief that only we can destroy ourselves and sadly, we are doing just that and are too preoccupied to notice.

In July of 2013, a man named Elmer Crow gave his life so that his two grandsons would live. Diving into the Snake River in Idaho; Elmer took his lasts breath showing the two boys to safety. A heroic finish to a life dedicated to serving the common good. To this day, the Pacific Lamprey; a native fish that was once near extinction now thrives in its native habitat thanks to Elmer and the hundreds of conservationists he taught and inspired. The story of Elmer Crow barely made it out of his hometown, reaching the national level only in Native American publications. Throughout the same year, we were pelted with story after story of Miley Cyrus, a moderately talented diva who for some reason, people could not and would not stop talking about. She stuck her tongue out and acted like a general idiot; yet our society adored her as if she were the second coming of Aretha Franklin.

Something is seriously wrong here. People who dedicated there loves to serving others are all but ignored while superficial attention-whores are showed the same praise we once showed leaders, scholars and yes, even musicians.

Last May, I read a story about students who were banned from flying the American Flag on a holiday celebrating a foreign country. There were varying reasons (excuses?) for this ban but the overall message I received was “We must honor all cultures except for our own…” You can bet there would have been an uproar had anyone tried to ban the flying of foreign flags this Fourth of July.

A little more recent, USMC Corporal Kyle Carpenter was awarded the Medal of Honor. Accordingly, he received much praise for his selfless actions; risking life and limb so his fellow Marines may survive the bitter fighting they were embroiled in. As Cpl. Carpenter toured the Nation raising awareness of veteran’s concerns; our Great Society focused on something they felt was much more important. Jeremy Meeks is a convicted felon awaiting trial on ten additional felony charges. Meeks was offered a thirty-thousand dollar modeling contract; in part because his ‘teardrop’ tattoo was ‘edgy’ and ‘sexy’. In prison/gang culture, a teardrop tattoo signifies that the person has committed a murder on behalf of his gang. Call me old-fashioned, but I see nothing ‘edgy’ or ‘sexy’ about a way of life that is rooted in preying on innocent citizens.

Apparently our society does and not only that, our social networking culture considers this gang banging piece of crap twenty times more important than a man who serves the citizens of this once-great nation.  A Facebook page dedicated to Jeremy Meeks has over a quarter million likes, the page for Kyle Carpenter has less than ten thousand.

I will combat this culture of ignorance, of praising those who should be punished, of refusing to hold the proper people accountable the only way I know how…

I will raise my children right. I will teach them right from wrong. I will show them the rewards of honesty and I will show them the results of dishonesty. I will show them that even though our society places value on material things, it’s what you leave behind you, not what you gain on the path that matters most. I will teach them that they are entitled to nothing but opportunity, and how far those opportunities take them is their decision and theirs alone. And yes, I will teach them that Tony Gwynn’s eight Silver Bats and five Gold Gloves are not nearly as important as knowing how he achieved those awards.

I really thought I had seen it all when people started getting famous for being celebrities, and people became celebrities for being famous, while the rest of us scratched our heads and wondered exactly what these people did to become famous. I thought the Kanye’s, the Mileys and the Paris Hilton’s of the world were as low as We the People would stoop. Sadly, we have stooped even lower. For when a teardrop tattoo holds more reverence among the masses than a Medal of Honor, something is very, very wrong. And to right this ship, we need a leader. Not a politician but a leader. A man who leads the people, not a man who leads his chosen party. A man who speaks his heart as well as his mind, critics be damned. A man who makes promises and keeps them, not a man who pays lip service for the sake of a vote. In short; unless we can clone a Washington, a Lincoln, or a Roosevelt or two, we are f***ed.

Which begs me to ask the question I asked last year when WWII and Battle of Okinawa combat veteran Delbert Belton was bludgeoned to death by two gang-banging punks, and not one politician cared enough to voice his concern.

I wonder if Australia has any vacancies…

American...Banned?

 

For the first time in ages, I read a news article that truly had me at a loss for words. Seriously, I sat in stunned silence for nearly an hour, absorbing what I just read with shock, disgust and outrage. As with any real story, I thought about much more than the content therein. I thought long into the night about the dangerous precedent it can set.  My offense at the story gave way to fear, fear of a precedent that is a huge tear in the fabric of what made this once-great nation great. In addition, I was saddened that I heard of the story three weeks after it broke. Apparently, the national media was more concerned with some hip-hop artist who was fighting with his in-laws. 

American students, on American soil, were banned from displaying an American Flag. Yes, you read that right and is my hope that you are as shocked as I was.

Now, let’s get into the story. The school where this took place is Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, California.  On May the 5^th, school administrators were afraid of gang violence erupting as it had in the past. Apparently, some gang members had taken offense to the American Flag and committed acts of aggression on students who displayed the flag. Try as I might, I cannot understand why a court and a school district would choose to honor the desires of a gang member. Attacking someone displaying an American Flag is something that should not go unpunished but rather than punish the offenders and take a pro-active approach to ending gang violence, more rules were laid out. And I think we are all well aware what happens when making new rules is the only solution offered rather than enforcing the rules already in place.

The United States has always been known as a melting pot and although we are taught to appreciate all cultures, we are slowly but surely demonizing any show of pride in our own. Students flying the American Flag were accused of racial insensitivity, yet gang members who attacked those students were given sympathy and told they would not have to see the flag on their special holiday. Something is very, very wrong here.

If you have the inclination, look over your social networking newsfeeds and count the number of people who mentioned celebrating Cinco de Mayo earlier this month. Compare that to how many people talk about celebrating DRINKO de Mayo. To many, the only significance of drinko, I mean “Cinco” de Mayo is what country their beer comes from and what type of silly hat they wear.

After that, ask yourself how many of those people know what the true meaning of Cinco de Mayo is and its real impact on the United States. The battle took place during the American Civil War. And while history books (the same ones that tell us Christopher Columbus is worthy of the reverence awarded men like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln) will tell us that it was a vital battle in the Mexican struggle for independence; we are not told that France invaded Mexico out of a desire to use our southern neighbor as a staging ground in hopes of supporting the Confederacy. It is hard to imagine what this country would look like had the French succeeded. I don’t like to think of what the outcome at Gettysburg would have been if the Union was fighting two armies instead of one.

 If a flag of ANY nation was banned from being flown on say, Memorial Day or the Fourth of July; you can bet there would be a national outrage. Yet banning the American flag was deemed appropriate. This is one of the most disgusting examples of double standards I’ve ever had the displeasure to witness

If a student is called racist for flying the Red, White and Blue, does this mean every Marine who fought at Iwo Jima is a racist? After all, they kind of had a dislike for the Japanese. And on that note, every yea our government issues an official apology to Japan for winning World War II yet we never hear that the Japanese committed atrocities that would make Hitler look like a schoolyard bully pushing a kid off the swing set. But that’s a rant for another time.

With most issues, if there is a positive resolution; it will be laid t to rest and put behind us.

 

If left unresolved, it will raise even more questions. The questions this story raised for me are what flag did Chesty Puller fight for? Which flag did my grandfather serve twenty two years under in the United States Navy? What flag did Dory Miller die for? If you ask the 9^th circuit Court and the administrators at Morgan Hill High School, their answer is “Not the one that matters.”
If anyone needs to contact me, you can find me over at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. I’ll be the guy with a bottle of Windex in one hand and a roll of paper towels in the other, wiping the brown stains off of the graves…