15 OCT
Patriotism comes in all shapes and sizes. The family that flies an American flag in front of their home is a patriotic family. The guy who puts a magnetic yellow ribbon on his bumper is a patriot too. I appreciate them, but tonight I’ve been slapped in the face by the honest truth that those Americans are just doing the bare minimum. They’re taking the “patriotic low road.”
To catch our flight to Kuwait, our three busloads of Sailors arrived at the airport hanger at 0200, that’s 2 a.m. for you none military folks. There waiting for us were dozens of applauding and cheering people, most of them former military members and their spouses. I repeat; it was 2 a.m. They had American flags in hand and thanked us and patted us on the back for stepping up and going forward. These people got up in the middle of the night just to wish us well. I’m sure they were expected at work a few hours later but being there for us was more important to them than a good nights sleep.
So often you hear people complaining about how the wave of patriotism died away just a few weeks after September 11th. The reality is it never died. These “high road patriots” were carrying the torch long before those planes ever hit and they continue to do so today. As long as we have a handful of high road patriots, I’m confident our country is in good hands. Remember, it was just a handful of brave Americans who stepped forward and spit into the face of the British monarchy to form our country.
I challenge you my family and friends…take the high road.
Right now I’m somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. We’re headed to Shannon, Ireland and after a short refueling stop, it’s onto Kuwait.
Patriotism comes in all shapes and sizes. The family that flies an American flag in front of their home is a patriotic family. The guy who puts a magnetic yellow ribbon on his bumper is a patriot too. I appreciate them, but tonight I’ve been slapped in the face by the honest truth that those Americans are just doing the bare minimum. They’re taking the “patriotic low road.”
To catch our flight to Kuwait, our three busloads of Sailors arrived at the airport hanger at 0200, that’s 2 a.m. for you none military folks. There waiting for us were dozens of applauding and cheering people, most of them former military members and their spouses. I repeat; it was 2 a.m. They had American flags in hand and thanked us and patted us on the back for stepping up and going forward. These people got up in the middle of the night just to wish us well. I’m sure they were expected at work a few hours later but being there for us was more important to them than a good nights sleep.
So often you hear people complaining about how the wave of patriotism died away just a few weeks after September 11th. The reality is it never died. These “high road patriots” were carrying the torch long before those planes ever hit and they continue to do so today. As long as we have a handful of high road patriots, I’m confident our country is in good hands. Remember, it was just a handful of brave Americans who stepped forward and spit into the face of the British monarchy to form our country.
I challenge you my family and friends…take the high road.
Right now I’m somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. We’re headed to Shannon, Ireland and after a short refueling stop, it’s onto Kuwait.
1 comment:
Very cool... I just posted this picture on our wall here... very very cool!
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