I had to lift this video from Big Hollywood about Gary Sinise and his Lt Dan Band. Gary has worked tirelessly on behalf of our service members raising funds, giving concerts and visiting the wounded. He doesn't do it for the attention, he does it out of conviction.
The full movie is going to be released on the Fourth of July online only. It will be available here with a portions of the proceeds going to his foundation which the military and their families.
During my time in service we didn't get a lot of USO shows. I remember one in Seoul, South Korea with Tanya Tucker. For about 90 minutes I was able to forget that just 30 miles away was about 4 zillion fanatical fighters led by an insane leader who could come charging across that border on a moments notice.
The other person I remember is Charlie Daniels, who really is a giant of a man. He stopped by the little outpost I was on and went to the gym and just hung out. No concert, no entourage, just a big man with an even bigger heart hanging out with the guys signing autographs, posing for photos and answering questions.
This 4th of July weekend let's all take a few minutes to remember that this is the day that a group of men with their own convictions pledged their lives and fortunes that this country may be born. A country that has been protected for 235 years by the men and women who have worn the uniform of this country.
Here's hoping Mr Sinise continues doing what he does.
Showing posts with label Fourth of July. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fourth of July. Show all posts
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Friday, July 04, 2008
Independence Day 2008
And thus it was done. 232 years ago our forefathers pledged everything, their lives, their fortunes, and their honor, to give rise to this nation. We have traveled far in such a short period of time, measured as it is against the rise of other nations. I would hope we have much further to travel on this path of greatness.
It is easy today to get discouraged by the cacophony of voices who see nothing but gloom and misery in this great land, but there is much to revere and cherish in the history of our nation. There have been bumps along the path, but none that we haven't handled. Our nation is still the one most other countries and peoples wish to emulate.
So on this Independence Day I ask not that we harp or dwell on what we perceive to be wrong, for people of every persuasion will find things they do not like, but rather we remember the Founding Fathers, and all that they risked and all they envisioned for this country.
I urge all of us to take to heart the final words of the Declaration of Independence.
It is easy today to get discouraged by the cacophony of voices who see nothing but gloom and misery in this great land, but there is much to revere and cherish in the history of our nation. There have been bumps along the path, but none that we haven't handled. Our nation is still the one most other countries and peoples wish to emulate.
So on this Independence Day I ask not that we harp or dwell on what we perceive to be wrong, for people of every persuasion will find things they do not like, but rather we remember the Founding Fathers, and all that they risked and all they envisioned for this country.
I urge all of us to take to heart the final words of the Declaration of Independence.
- And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor.
It's the Fourth of July
Before getting too busy with the final preparations for your family's 4th of July observance, sit the kids down for a few minutes to learn a history lesson.
A few years ago, Red Skelton - a real comedian - explained to his nation-wide audience, the significance of the Pledge of Allegiance and how it's personal nature serves as one of the keys to the American Experience.
So, round up the kids, the grandkids -- the neighbor's kids. What the hell, get the neighbors, too. There's no sense in sharing this with the kids only.
OK, Kossies, snivel.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Let's Be Americans First
When will the word American once again be used as a stand-alone adjective? Today we seem to be awash in hyphen American. You know Hispanic-American, African-American, and without the hyphen Native American.
When you take this in the context of what the Islamic world is like you can draw some surprising parallels. What is the biggest cause of friction in the Muslim world? The fact that they identify with a particular sect of Islam, Sunni, Shiite, or Wahhabi first and then maybe their tribe or village and somewhere way down the line they associate themselves with a nation. One of the biggest obstacles facing our rebuilding efforts in Iraq is the fact that these different groups cannot or will not unite under one banner.
In America we are sliding down this path. It used to be all one had to say was he was an American. Not anymore. Previous waves of immigrants strived to be known as Americans with no qualifiers in front. They pushed their children to become Americans. This doesn’t mean they forgot the old customs of their homeland or that they completely abandoned any connection to their past. Quite the opposite. They folded their heritage into the fabric that makes up America.
This very trend to now be known as something first with the word American coming second is no different then the Muslim who first and always considers himself Muslim and then something else. This is why the Muslims have such a hard time mixing into the countries they immigrate to and become alienated. In a lot of cases they want to change their new homeland into what they left. That very thing is what is threatening America now.
If you want to include your previous ethnic identity why does it have to come first instead of after American. Why was it decided to be African-Americans instead of Americans of African decent or Americans of Hispanic origin?
As a young man serving in the Army in Germany I saw the transition from being viewed with suspicion by the Europeans to being able to walk down the sidewalk head high with an almost cocky air because of President Reagan speaking loud and embodying the American ideal. It started with him and trickled down to the least of us. Our hockey team beating Russia in the Olympics further promoted this. In each case it mattered not what the color of your skin was, what kind of accent you had, or where in the world your ancestors came from you were now simply an American.
The recent events surrounding the immigration bill that has captured the attention of the American public once again brought this sort of nationalistic pride to come forward only to be beaten down once again by the usual list of suspects who started smearing critics as racists and bigot. It seems to be the one thing that will get most Americans to sit down, shut up and go hide is a corner is the use of these words. It is time to realize that anybody who wishes to crush public dissent will somehow manage to get these words into any debate to cow their detractors. I say it is time to quit being ashamed of being called a racist or bigot. Even the Islamic mouthpieces such as CAIR have begun using the word racist to silence critics. I thought Islam was a religion not a race. Are you racist if you express reservations about Catholics or Mormons? If you are proud to be an American, and just that, an American, start taking the word back. Make the word American mean something again. No qualifiers, no need to identify with sub group, no some sort of primal instinct to pigeon hole yourself into a group based solely on your skin color or country of origin of your ancestors.
One thing I learned in the army, that was not taught by getting in touch with my inner self or any of the embracing diversity stuff that is so common now, but learned by acts of facing a shared difficulty or enemy. Whether that enemy was a Drill Sergeant or the Soviet Army, once you faced hardship and conditions, that most people would brand you as certifiable nuts, when you came out the other side you were only one thing, a soldier. A running joke was we were all green, granted some were light green and others dark green but we were all green. That unifying spirit is why reenlistment rates are so high while the recruitment rates lag. It is the reason that our Armed Forces are the best in the world in spite of what seems at times as everybody else in the world doing their best to keep them from succeeding.
It is that spirit that must be reborn in America. We must begin to define ourselves as Americans first and foremost. I just hope that unlike the military who instills this through trials by fire that we, the average citizen of this country, will not have to have a this trial to recognize that we are all in this together. We must be Americans only.
I think Red Skelton said it best with his explanation of the Pledge of Allegiance.
When you take this in the context of what the Islamic world is like you can draw some surprising parallels. What is the biggest cause of friction in the Muslim world? The fact that they identify with a particular sect of Islam, Sunni, Shiite, or Wahhabi first and then maybe their tribe or village and somewhere way down the line they associate themselves with a nation. One of the biggest obstacles facing our rebuilding efforts in Iraq is the fact that these different groups cannot or will not unite under one banner.
In America we are sliding down this path. It used to be all one had to say was he was an American. Not anymore. Previous waves of immigrants strived to be known as Americans with no qualifiers in front. They pushed their children to become Americans. This doesn’t mean they forgot the old customs of their homeland or that they completely abandoned any connection to their past. Quite the opposite. They folded their heritage into the fabric that makes up America.
This very trend to now be known as something first with the word American coming second is no different then the Muslim who first and always considers himself Muslim and then something else. This is why the Muslims have such a hard time mixing into the countries they immigrate to and become alienated. In a lot of cases they want to change their new homeland into what they left. That very thing is what is threatening America now.
If you want to include your previous ethnic identity why does it have to come first instead of after American. Why was it decided to be African-Americans instead of Americans of African decent or Americans of Hispanic origin?
As a young man serving in the Army in Germany I saw the transition from being viewed with suspicion by the Europeans to being able to walk down the sidewalk head high with an almost cocky air because of President Reagan speaking loud and embodying the American ideal. It started with him and trickled down to the least of us. Our hockey team beating Russia in the Olympics further promoted this. In each case it mattered not what the color of your skin was, what kind of accent you had, or where in the world your ancestors came from you were now simply an American.
The recent events surrounding the immigration bill that has captured the attention of the American public once again brought this sort of nationalistic pride to come forward only to be beaten down once again by the usual list of suspects who started smearing critics as racists and bigot. It seems to be the one thing that will get most Americans to sit down, shut up and go hide is a corner is the use of these words. It is time to realize that anybody who wishes to crush public dissent will somehow manage to get these words into any debate to cow their detractors. I say it is time to quit being ashamed of being called a racist or bigot. Even the Islamic mouthpieces such as CAIR have begun using the word racist to silence critics. I thought Islam was a religion not a race. Are you racist if you express reservations about Catholics or Mormons? If you are proud to be an American, and just that, an American, start taking the word back. Make the word American mean something again. No qualifiers, no need to identify with sub group, no some sort of primal instinct to pigeon hole yourself into a group based solely on your skin color or country of origin of your ancestors.
One thing I learned in the army, that was not taught by getting in touch with my inner self or any of the embracing diversity stuff that is so common now, but learned by acts of facing a shared difficulty or enemy. Whether that enemy was a Drill Sergeant or the Soviet Army, once you faced hardship and conditions, that most people would brand you as certifiable nuts, when you came out the other side you were only one thing, a soldier. A running joke was we were all green, granted some were light green and others dark green but we were all green. That unifying spirit is why reenlistment rates are so high while the recruitment rates lag. It is the reason that our Armed Forces are the best in the world in spite of what seems at times as everybody else in the world doing their best to keep them from succeeding.
It is that spirit that must be reborn in America. We must begin to define ourselves as Americans first and foremost. I just hope that unlike the military who instills this through trials by fire that we, the average citizen of this country, will not have to have a this trial to recognize that we are all in this together. We must be Americans only.
I think Red Skelton said it best with his explanation of the Pledge of Allegiance.
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