Simply put, I believe that America stands for all the hopeful and grand ideals that the founding fathers put in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The emphasis here is on “grand ideals”. Ideals such as equality, liberty, freedom, and justice.
Those great yet fallible men who wrote these two documents were human beings and they like the documents they wrote and this great nation were, and are, and always will be, filled with fallacies. More than many of us even care to contemplate. Yes I hate to break it to some of you but the United States of America is not a perfect nation. But, what I believe many people do not seem to realize, and this applies to those on the extreme left and right alike, is that the founding fathers never thought of these documents or our government as perfect or even near perfect. In fact I believe they purposefully used words like “in order to form a more perfect union” to tell us this and this should tell us implicitly that they understood that the documents and the nation were not, are not, and never would be perfect. These historic documents were in fact cobbled together from many different ideas and often through bitter argument and yes great struggle and compromise. And, the simple construction of these two documents acknowledged that they must be living documents capable of growing with the nation but growing with extreme caution.
I believe that from the very founding of this great nation and because of our own difficult struggles for freedom, our citizens have held these two documents up and proclaimed to themselves and the world, “this is what we want and strive to be”, “this is what we believe is right and correct and good”. But, contrary to what this country’s current administration apparently believes, I do not believe we should ever hold these two documents up and say these documents are perfect and this is what we think the rest of the world should do and be. And, contrary to the radicals on the other side who would destroy our country I promise you these documents, these ideals, and these people are strong and you will never succeed.
So what does all of this mean to me as a soldier/citizen? What does this mean to me when someone holds up a list, from inception to the present, of our nation’s transgressions, domestic and international? What does this mean to me when someone holds up pictures of innocent people killed, injured, and maimed by our military forces? What does this mean to me when someone says you are and evil nation with out principles?
It means that I am deeply and woefully and painfully sorry for any unintended consequences of our actions but it also means I will march straighter and hold my head up higher because we are still a nation of free people struggling, sacrificing, and dying to achieve the ideals set forth in our Declaration of Independence and Constitution. It means that Abraham Lincoln knew and understood this struggle. It means that Carrie Nation knew and understood this struggle, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. knew and understood this struggle. And, it means that innumerable other Americans knew and know this struggle and died and are dying for it. It means we are a nation in a constant internal battle to “form a more perfect union” while simultaneously defending ourselves and much of the world from real aggression. And, it means that while we are all of these things, we are also a nation whom the world looks to as an example of a struggling nation of free people. It means we are a nation often and consistently called upon by the world to intervene and aid and assist in spite of our fallacies and shortcomings and the mistakes we make. It means that we are a nation that many other nations respect and fear and covet and loath all at the same time. It means we are one nation trying to live and survive like so many other nations in this world. And it means we are not perfect. It means we are.
No we are not perfect, but to those of you who would damn us I say this. Before you damn this nation again, I would ask you this. Look around at the rest of the world. How many other nations do you see struggling as vehemently as America does to achieve the “grand ideals” which we struggle so desperately to achieve? How many other nations do you see who are capable of shouldering the burdens thrust upon this nation by the rest of the world? How many other nations do you see where their citizenry have the freedoms to struggle against and change their government as we Americans do? And, I would ask you this; would you have this nation put down all of its weapons and leave the rest of the world to have their own? No, I think not, and if you would I would tell you it would be easier to simply place the gun at your head now and pull the trigger.
I am not a champion of war. I hate war! I have lived and survived war. It is an ugly, callous, and cruel thing that is visited upon mankind but, I also know all too well that there is evil in this world and if those who are not evil would discern between good and evil and bring peace then I would tell you war is all too often an unfortunate necessity.
I believe that perhaps this quote by an Englishman, Economist, and Philosopher is appropriate. “War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of 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 personal safety; is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made so by the exertions of better men than himself.” John Stuart Mill, 1806 – 1879
So I say this to those Americans who would curse and damn this nation. Demand change! Struggle for change! Fight for change! And if necessary die for change but, think twice and long and hard before you curse, or damn this country for we are the mightiest of the islands of freedom and in our absence, not just this country but this world would surely descend into anarchy. Use your energy to bring change to your country and not to weaken or bring it down because if you succeed I do not believe you will find another sanctuary from which to take up your fight.
Lastly, I would tell you that George W. Bush and the neocons do not understand any of what I have written here because if they did we would not be in Iraq today. They do not understand that it is a moral obligation of this nation to not impose our system of government or belief system on other nations and cultures. It is my belief that if, and it is a big if, we as a nation are charged or morally obligated to do anything in this world it is to create an environment around us where nations and peoples can grow and develop in a peaceful manner without threat from tyranny either from within or without and that is most often accomplished effectively through leadership, diplomacy, and example and not through brute force. Mill explains Mr. Bush and the neocons for us with this quote. “Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives.” John Stuart Mill, 1806 – 1879
Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.
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