Victory in Iraq!

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of a moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight—nothing he cares about more than his own safety—is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. – John Stuart Mill

Vets for Victory is an organization of American veterans who are doing what they can to support our troops and encourage all Americans to support the troops to victory! As a veteran and a current member of the California Army National Guard, I am thrilled to find out about this organization. Check out the link above and encourage your friends and families to support the troops and to support our efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Somalia...wherever they are serving in the world today.

What has particularly struck me recently is how apathetic many Americans are about the ideals that America stands for. We love our freedom and our iPods, our movies, our eating out, our stock portfolios, our video games, our 401(k)'s, our Wal-Mart's, our Costco's, our Nordstrom's...you get the idea. Yet, so many younger Americans (anyone after the WWII generation) have forgotten all about the many sacrifices that our prior generations have given in order to provide us with the incredible blessings that we have today.

As a current member of the National Guard, it is possible that I could be called and sent to Iraq or Afghanistan (I already served overseas in Kosovo in 2003). I have had deep conversations about this with Wendy...if called, I will go...if I was not willing to go, then I would have to completely reconsider my support of the troops and of the war effort.

When frustrated with the pessimistic outlook of those who oppose the War, I wondered how these Americans could not support our Nation's best interest...a free and stable Iraq. But then it occurred to me that these pessimistic folks do not have the stomach or intestinal fortitude to go off to war, and therefore intellectually they must not support the effort. And on the other hand, those folks who are in support of the War, are generally folks who are willing to sacrifice their own blood, sweat, and tears to support a cause greater than themselves.

At least the pessimists have this going for them: they are being intellectually honest, in that because they are not willing to make a personal sacrifice, so they are against the War effort.

However, what bothers me about this is the fact that it seems to be an ever increasing segment of our population that is so self-centered that we are not willing to make sacrifices on behalf of the greater good. The freedom and prosperity that we enjoy in the United States of America did not happen by accident. It happened because of the blood, sweat and tears of so many millions of men and women who came before us that were willing to stand up and fight against the evil of rogue nations, leaders, and ideologies. (Mussolini, Hitler, nazism, communism, Stalin, etc.)

It is time to wake up America. Take a moment to look back and remember the sacrifice that made the freedom and prosperity that we enjoy possible. Remember what happened on 9/11/2001...remember Pearl Harbor...remember D-Day...remember the American Revolution, remember the sacrifice during the Civil War that eventually led to the emancipation of the slaves...remember the "Greatest Generation" of young boys and young men who even lied about their age in order to enlist and serve their country in it's time of need. Thank God that these young men were not more interested in sitting in front of a television watching MTV or playing Nintendo, but rather were willing to fight for what is right and in many cases they gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

Here is a post that includes the video of 9/11 for those who have already forgotten.