Regarding the people of the land upon which God shed His Grace:
In the interest of giving proper respect to those whom America asks to fight our battles and risk their lives, I think that it would be worthwhile to recount the courage and heroism that has gone before in the name of America.
Those whom we will ask to exact payment from the murderers who killed thousands of our countrymen need to know, as they go off to battle, that America- as diverse as we are- is united behind them and there is no wavering in our support of them.
Let us guarantee that we recognize the need for them to do what they will do, the righteousness of what they will do and our support for them as we’ve supported our soldiers before.
I think that something I wrote earlier might recount what I am certain is America’s understanding, resolve and gratitude in the face of a terrible and necessary battle we ask others to fight in the name of the United States of America.
I wrote the following on June 6th 2001.
On a blood-soaked day 57 years ago God blessed a diverse collection of combat specialists converging in France. Some carried guns and some carried flame-throwers. Some climbed cliffs against all odds and some never even crossed the beach. Some lived and very many died. Together they overcame the fierce and deadly resistance Germans put up on that awful day. Their success was not because they brought diversity to those beaches. They succeeded because they were united.
Strength is found not in diversity but in unity. United we can stand, divided we will fall. Note that diversity united was their ultimate strength. That dreadful, but necessary time in history, is a microcosm of how the world works. We learn from it lest we allow the sacrifice that all people who fought and killed and died while seeking or protecting freedom for us all rots in apathetic or ignorant shame.
We live in a peaceful time in American history because of such sacrifice. Let us learn from one of the lessons to be found in sacrifice. We are diverse, yes. But our strength is in our unity.
The Teacher instructs the mathematician who provides the engineer what is needed to design the car built by the assemblers in the factories. The cars are shipped via diverse transportation systems by truckers and engineers and those who pilot ships. Salespeople sell those cars which are serviced by mechanics who are supplied by part manufacturers and the clerical personnel and computer programmers who make it possible to keep track of all that commerce. We drive those cars to the stores where we buy the products provided by the farmers who toil in the sun and rain and agricultural entrepreneurs who develop a better way to get more wheat per acre. That wheat is ground and baked and wrapped and shipped and bought and eaten and turned into energy in the stomachs of children who grow to take their rightful place among us fortunate to live in a land where the right to property gives incentive to keep the air and water clean; where we watch out for our neighbors and are free to give thanks to the God who allows and provides such blessings.
That is only a partial accounting of the diversity that is found among the people of this nation. We are diverse, yes. But our strength lies not in diversity but in our all focusing on providing a better life for ourselves and our families as we partake in the great American experiment; the heritage of freedom.
Thank a vet, remember those who sacrificed so much- even their lives, and take your place in America. Together, with God’s blessing, we can all get to a better America and a still better America and a better America yet. It is in our reach as we work united in purpose, though we work for ourselves and our families. We build a better, stronger America as we work to better and strengthen ourselves.