May 28, 2007 1:27 PM
A repentant radical leftist observes Memorial Day
I was 38 years old when I finally understood and appreciated the sacrifice which gave me the privilege of living in a country where I had the freedom to express my beliefs - no matter how filled with hatred and ingratitude.
As an anti-war activist during the VietNam War, I had nothing but contempt for the military. And as much as today the left twists itself into semantic pretzels to convince us that it's possible to honor the military while undercutting their mission, I know from experience that they regard themselves as intellectually superior and can't even begin to comprehend the bravery and nobility of those who serve.
I don't want to take too much time today to research (my family's congregating soon), but maybe some of you are familiar with blogs by soldiers which give an accurate portrayal of what is going on in Iraq. Will you link them in the comments and/or here, please? We need to seek out these alternative information sources as our Mainstream Media are clearly on a mission to embitter us against our own country and those who demonstrate their love for it.
Anyone who has any doubt of this, please consider the amount of coverage given in the MSM to the barbaric behavior of a few loose cannon American soldiers at Abu Graib and the beyond barbaric beheadings of American civilians by terrorists. It is absolutely mind-boggling how obvious the media are in their attempts to savage our nation and our confidence.
I mentioned that Thursday I covered a press conference at the National Press Club in downtown Washington DC. The conference was called by the American Legion - a veterans' group with 2.7 million members, each of whom served in active military duty during time of war - to announce that they had had enough of the ACLU's attacks on veterans' memorials and Boy Scouts. (I will be writing more on this after I finish my assignment this week.)
Notably absent was the Washington Post - even though their offices are only a few blocks away. I suppose the story was not as significant as it might have been had a GLBT group called a press conference to announce discrimination by the military. Now that would have been a front-page story. As it is, the Post still has not mentioned the American Legion's plan to protect and defend their memorials. Oh, and contrast that with their full coverage of 55 SoulForce protestors at Patrick Henry College - a good 90 minutes from DC. Media bias couldn't be more obvious than when you live in the area served by the Post.
When it comes to the American Legion declaring war on "the terrorism of secular cleansing," here's something to think about: The ACLU calls itself "the foremost defender of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights." But isn't that a title actually earned by our men and women in uniform, many of whom give their lives to defend our freedoms? Certainly not deserved by those lining their pockets with inflated attorney's fees ($962,000 in a recent award - more to come on how the ACLU is using a legal loophole to intimidate communities into caving on free expression issues).
Since I became a believer - and coincidentally an ex-ACLU member and a forever grateful citizen - I have made it a point each year to observe Memorial Day by sharing with my children the memory of those who made the supreme sacrifice for us - and to their families.
May God help us never forget!
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Comments
http://www.chaplainfisher.com/ That is a blog by an Army chaplain. He has links in his sidebar to other chaplain blogs.
http://joelmaxwell.com/ This is a blog by a soldier who is deployed right now to Afghanistan. His blog is primarily about his journey out of debt (a fascinating story by the way), but he also blogs about Army stuff. He is at a base that was recently on the news for being attacked by a suicide bomber.
http://gentlewhisper.com/blog/nomenu/chaplain-blogs/ This is a link to a whole list of Chaplain blogs.
Posted by: Rachel | May 28, 2007 2:56 PM
I'm not a soldier, but a soldier's wife, blogging my way through our second Iraq/OIF deployment.
Posted by: Jennie C. | May 28, 2007 3:47 PM
Hello Barbara,
I recently read your "The Gospel According to Les Miserables," and loved it. My children recently performed this play with their Christian High School and everyone who experienced this performance was deeply moved. I noted you are an author and mother of 12. Wow!!!!
Writing is one of my passions and I just wanted to ask you how you manage to fit it into your life. Do you follow some sort of schedule? If so what? I struggle with trying to look after my family, an acreage, working part-time and writing. All of us moms are familiar with the "struggle to juggle," as I fondly call it.
Any pointers would be tremendously appreciated.
Take care and God Bless,
Beth
Posted by: beth | May 28, 2007 5:22 PM
This is such a hard issue. The notion of duty has been coming up in my thinking and writing in the past few days. We need to pray for enlightment for our leaders and for ourselves.
Posted by: Irene | May 28, 2007 8:39 PM
I really, really like Mudville Gazette. It's a blog by a military family (he was in a combat zone until recently). They do a fantastic job of rounding up military news, putting it in perspective, giving the side of the story the MSM doesn't like to tell, and linking to other military blogs.
http://www.mudvillegazette.com/
Posted by: DeputyHeadmistress | May 29, 2007 2:16 AM
