I served twenty years in the United
States Navy as a Hospital Corpsman, Aviation Med Tech. Seventeen years of that time was with
deployable units. I've travelled around
the globe, taking part in numerous campaigns working to support front line
troops in what I believed (for a time) was a worthy cause. I am proud of the service I gave and prouder
still to have worked with some of the finest people on earth. And I was humbled and honored to have been
selected to serve as a Chief Petty Officer and be accepted into the Chief's Mess with
some of the best of the best.
I believe it is right and good to
offer thanks for those willing to put their lives on the line in time of
war. And to honor those who have
fallen. It takes great courage and
commitment, great love and sacrifice to sign up for service and spend months,
even years, apart from home and hearth, risking their lives to defend
freedom. It is perhaps an even greater
love and commitment on the part of family members, who stay behind, to support
and love them from afar...and who must grieve and heal when their loved ones
pay the ultimate price.
But, I believe it takes even greater
courage, sacrifice and love to look deeply and more honestly at the weight of
evidence that suggests that the reasons we thought we were fighting for were,
in fact, manufactured, manipulated and outright lies...that we have been lied
to by our leaders and the media...that our dedication, honor and commitment
have been abused and misused by powers behind our government for profit and control.
On these occasions, what wells up in
my heart, is a hope and longing that one day we will celebrate peacemakers and
all those who put their reputations on the line to speak out against war and
our war machine. Who risk losing
friendships, careers, and security when they bravely speak up and address the
facts that point to an over-arching plan on the part of "The Enemy"
to keep us in a state of war, for profit, for control, and, ultimately, for the
purpose of setting the stage for the an even greater evil to manifest itself.
There is much time and effort spent
in this country properly honoring warriors and their sacrifices made. But, it is my firm conviction that if we are willing
to put equal time and effort into educating ourselves about the truth of what
we have become as a nation (the very thing President Eisenhower warned us about
in his farewell address) perhaps we'd be closer to that time and place spoken
of in Scripture where swords are beaten into plowshares, spears into pruning
hooks and men will learn of war no more.
If we continue on our present course, ignoring the facts behind our economy of war, we do so at the expense of a lasting peace we could have achieved, had we only been willing to honestly look into the mirror of truth and not walk away forgetting what God has revealed to us.
May God bless you, my friend, with the courage to make the bravest
decision you'll ever make....to not only seek the truth, but to then choose to live by it.
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Please feel free to comment, but do practice good manners. I'm not afraid of a good debate, but efforts to demean or degrade anyone or any other post or comment will not be tolerated. Stick to the issues and back up your position with verifiable facts. Understand that we can disagree without being disagreeable. Thanks and God bless.