Like most FSOs, I am a busy man. And like most of us, though I love my work, it stresses me out. And as someone who fights for justice, I am often upset by the many acts of injustice I witness. In short, I rarely take time to take stock of my blessings, being more preoccupied with stresses and frustrations and annoyances.
There are many reasons why Americans of all faiths and backgrounds celebrate Thanksgiving. An excuse to feast. An opportunity to get together with family members, some of whom might only be seen on the holidays. A day off from work. And the feeling that they are part of something that is happening on that day in nearly every house all over America.
Celebrating Thanksgiving is as much a celebration of being American as is celebrating the 4th of July.
It is the true embodiment of the first amendment to the American Constitution, which states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." In other words, America is a secular nation that encourages the free expression of religion. And Thanksgiving is a holiday that is both completely secular, something generally celebrated at home rather than church, and yet inherently spiritual, a tangible and participatory expression of core values of every major religion.
I celebrated with my wife's family, most of whom either emigrated to America themselves, or represent the first generation of their lineage to be born here. In addition to a very traditional preparation of turkey with all the trimmings and a home-made apple pie, there was also goat stew, salted cod, rice-and-peas and a really delicious flan.
And this is American too. To be able to know where your ancestors came from and celebrate one's heritage, while at the same time being and feeling completely American.
The other day I met a man from Vietnam, who had been a translator for the U.S. Marine Corps. When Saigon fell, the Marines airlifted him out, and gave him a job as a janitor on a Marine base until his situation was legalised. Once his situation became legal, he founded a small cleaning company that grew into a larger one, that grew into a service corporation doing everything from cleaning to catering. Then he bought restaurants and office buildings, and became a very wealthy man. He is currently using part of his fortune to create and fund a program to help people affected by Agent Orange, both American war veterans and Vietnamese. He is funding therapy centers for affected veterans in several American cities, as well as in Vietnam.
Like most immigrants, he is very much aware of the tremendous debt he owes this country, and now that he is able to give back, he is doing so. His project benefits more than veterans. It is actually bringing the US and Vietnam closer together; something that advances our national interest.
Thinking about his story reinforced my frustration with a DS leadership that continues to consider members of minority religions, ethnic groups, or orientation less likely to be loyal to America than everyone else.
America gave my parents a refuge when other countries refused to let them in. And despite the controversies involved, America continues to provide a home for tens of thousands of immigrants every year. And most of them are more loyal, not less, to the country that gave them refuge from whatever they left behind.
Today I played checkers and cards with family members, caught up with their news, and relaxed in a way I rarely do. And I thanked God for my own blessings: a job I love, good and supportive friends, a beautiful and loving family, and the opportunity to serve my fellow FSOs and help them in their individual and collective battles for justice.
It was a cleansing and wonderful day.
I hope that all our readers, on both sides of CFSO's issues, had a similarly relaxing holiday, and took the time to step back from their stresses and frustrations, and just be thankful.
All of us, no matter what our problems and frustrations, have a great deal to be thankful for.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Veterans Day, 2009
In case you missed it in the Wednesday, April 15, 2009, Japan Times:
The end of the long march
By LESTER TENNEY
Special to The Japan Times
CARLSBAD, Calif. — Sixty-seven years ago this month, on April 9, 1942, I was surrendered to the Japanese Imperial Army on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines. At my first prison camp, the Japanese commandant turned to the American prisoners of war (POWs) and told us that we were "lower than dogs" and "they (the Japanese) would treat us that way for the rest of our lives." Then he said, "We will never be friends with the piggish Americans.
For a long time I thought he was right. But we have both changed. This year, I welcomed the Japanese government's first official apology to the American POWs, 63 years after our liberation.
If my fellow soldiers or I had known the consequences of being a POW of the Japanese, we would have fought to the death. After three long months of jungle fighting against a better-equipped invasion force, the American and Filipino troops were starving, sick, exhausted and out of ammunition.
At surrender, we were immediately forced to march 105 km through the steaming Bataan Peninsula without food, water, medical treatment or rest. Today, the Bataan Death March is remembered as one of the worst war crimes of World War II.
I will never forget my buddies who were shot simply for trying to get a drink of water; crushed by a tank for stumbling; bayoneted just because they could not take another step; or forced at gun point to bury alive the sick. I bear a deep scar where a Japanese officer on horseback brought his samurai sword down on my shoulder.
Those who survived the Death March faced over three years of unimaginably brutal imprisonment. Many, like me, were herded into "Hell Ships," packed shoulder to shoulder without food or sanitation and shipped to factories, mines and docks across the Japanese Empire. The survivors were literally sold to private Japanese companies to work sustaining wartime production.
I dug coal in a dangerous Mitsui Corporation-owned mine. Like all POWs, I was overworked, beaten, humiliated and starved. The damage and suffering we endured from these companies' employees were comparable to, and sometimes worse than, that inflicted upon us by the Imperial Japanese military. Among World War II combat veterans and former POWs, those who were prisoners of the Japanese have the highest percentage of post-traumatic stress disorders. To say the least, we POWs had and still have intense feelings about Japan.
Yet the Japanese commandant who belittled his American captives was wrong. The United States and Japan have become friends and close allies — a result we welcome. My anger has been tempered by the many Japanese people who have welcomed me to Japan. Personal friendships and common goals heal many wounds.
Our unfortunate history came largely to closure in a personal meeting with the Japanese ambassador to the U.S. and his wife last November. I was finally able to tell a Japanese official my story. He heard of my humiliations, saw my scars and learned of my Japanese friends who have helped me overcome my POW trauma.
I asked for the ambassador's help in requesting three things from his government so that justice is achieved for POWs: (1) an official apology; (2) an appeal to companies to apologize for their wartime use of POWs; and (3) a reconciliation project.
In December, the ambassador wrote me with news for which I have waited decades. His letter said that Japan's government extends "a heartfelt apology for our country having caused tremendous damage and suffering to many people, including those who have undergone tragic experiences in the Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor Island in the Philippines."
This acknowledging gesture was followed in February by a Cabinet-approved statement to a member of the Diet that extended the apology to all "former POWs." It is the first official apology specifically to mention POWs or any particular group hurt by Imperial Japan.
We POWs accept these long-sought apologies and now ask Japan to state them for all to hear and understand. I trust that my two other requests will be fulfilled soon. It has taken nearly seven decades, but Japan's recognition of its mistreatment of POWs attains historic justice and brings fullness to the U.S.-Japan relationship. A future of a peaceful alliance is what we really wanted in the first place.
Dr. Lester Tenney is a professor emeritus of business administration from Arizona State University and commander of the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor. He is a survivor of the Bataan Death March and slave labor in a Mitsui coal mine.
The end of the long march
By LESTER TENNEY
Special to The Japan Times
CARLSBAD, Calif. — Sixty-seven years ago this month, on April 9, 1942, I was surrendered to the Japanese Imperial Army on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines. At my first prison camp, the Japanese commandant turned to the American prisoners of war (POWs) and told us that we were "lower than dogs" and "they (the Japanese) would treat us that way for the rest of our lives." Then he said, "We will never be friends with the piggish Americans.
For a long time I thought he was right. But we have both changed. This year, I welcomed the Japanese government's first official apology to the American POWs, 63 years after our liberation.
If my fellow soldiers or I had known the consequences of being a POW of the Japanese, we would have fought to the death. After three long months of jungle fighting against a better-equipped invasion force, the American and Filipino troops were starving, sick, exhausted and out of ammunition.
At surrender, we were immediately forced to march 105 km through the steaming Bataan Peninsula without food, water, medical treatment or rest. Today, the Bataan Death March is remembered as one of the worst war crimes of World War II.
I will never forget my buddies who were shot simply for trying to get a drink of water; crushed by a tank for stumbling; bayoneted just because they could not take another step; or forced at gun point to bury alive the sick. I bear a deep scar where a Japanese officer on horseback brought his samurai sword down on my shoulder.
Those who survived the Death March faced over three years of unimaginably brutal imprisonment. Many, like me, were herded into "Hell Ships," packed shoulder to shoulder without food or sanitation and shipped to factories, mines and docks across the Japanese Empire. The survivors were literally sold to private Japanese companies to work sustaining wartime production.
I dug coal in a dangerous Mitsui Corporation-owned mine. Like all POWs, I was overworked, beaten, humiliated and starved. The damage and suffering we endured from these companies' employees were comparable to, and sometimes worse than, that inflicted upon us by the Imperial Japanese military. Among World War II combat veterans and former POWs, those who were prisoners of the Japanese have the highest percentage of post-traumatic stress disorders. To say the least, we POWs had and still have intense feelings about Japan.
Yet the Japanese commandant who belittled his American captives was wrong. The United States and Japan have become friends and close allies — a result we welcome. My anger has been tempered by the many Japanese people who have welcomed me to Japan. Personal friendships and common goals heal many wounds.
Our unfortunate history came largely to closure in a personal meeting with the Japanese ambassador to the U.S. and his wife last November. I was finally able to tell a Japanese official my story. He heard of my humiliations, saw my scars and learned of my Japanese friends who have helped me overcome my POW trauma.
I asked for the ambassador's help in requesting three things from his government so that justice is achieved for POWs: (1) an official apology; (2) an appeal to companies to apologize for their wartime use of POWs; and (3) a reconciliation project.
In December, the ambassador wrote me with news for which I have waited decades. His letter said that Japan's government extends "a heartfelt apology for our country having caused tremendous damage and suffering to many people, including those who have undergone tragic experiences in the Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor Island in the Philippines."
This acknowledging gesture was followed in February by a Cabinet-approved statement to a member of the Diet that extended the apology to all "former POWs." It is the first official apology specifically to mention POWs or any particular group hurt by Imperial Japan.
We POWs accept these long-sought apologies and now ask Japan to state them for all to hear and understand. I trust that my two other requests will be fulfilled soon. It has taken nearly seven decades, but Japan's recognition of its mistreatment of POWs attains historic justice and brings fullness to the U.S.-Japan relationship. A future of a peaceful alliance is what we really wanted in the first place.
Dr. Lester Tenney is a professor emeritus of business administration from Arizona State University and commander of the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor. He is a survivor of the Bataan Death March and slave labor in a Mitsui coal mine.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
NORAD Tracks Santa
The North American Aerospace Defense Command has begun tracking a flying sleigh drawn by eight tiny reindeer, believed to be carrying gifts for everyone but the leadership of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security's directorate of Security Infrastructure. At this writing, the craft just passed Auckland New Zealand.
Monitoring the flight from Peterson AFB, Colorado, the defenders of our airspace will supply live video feeds of actual real-time satellite footage to a special website.
NORAD's predecessor CONAD (the Continental Air Defense Command) began tracking the annual journey of Santa's sleigh on Dec. 24, 1955, after a series of errant phone calls was made to the CONAD Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. A Colorado Springs newspaper had printed a Sears, Roebuck & Co. ad which provided a telephone number for children to call to talk to Santa. The number was one digit off, corresponding to CONAD's operations center. The subsequent barrage of phone calls convinced the CONAD watch officer, Col. Harry W. Shoup, that Santa was a man worth watching. He directed his staff to monitor the progress of the sleigh, a tradition that is now in its 50th year.
For the last four years, the task has been facilitated by Google Earth. Thanks to Google, busy State Department officials, or those at embassies facilitating Codels, can track the old man's progress on their Blackberries.
Monitoring the flight from Peterson AFB, Colorado, the defenders of our airspace will supply live video feeds of actual real-time satellite footage to a special website.
NORAD's predecessor CONAD (the Continental Air Defense Command) began tracking the annual journey of Santa's sleigh on Dec. 24, 1955, after a series of errant phone calls was made to the CONAD Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. A Colorado Springs newspaper had printed a Sears, Roebuck & Co. ad which provided a telephone number for children to call to talk to Santa. The number was one digit off, corresponding to CONAD's operations center. The subsequent barrage of phone calls convinced the CONAD watch officer, Col. Harry W. Shoup, that Santa was a man worth watching. He directed his staff to monitor the progress of the sleigh, a tradition that is now in its 50th year.
For the last four years, the task has been facilitated by Google Earth. Thanks to Google, busy State Department officials, or those at embassies facilitating Codels, can track the old man's progress on their Blackberries.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
One Nation
Today is Veteran's Day in America.
At 1030 this morning, in Arlington National Cemetery, the U.S. Navy Band will strike up, at 11, a wreath will be laid at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and subsequently, there will be a ceremony in the Memorial Amphitheater.
I will be in Arlington, to place a pebble on my father's grave, and so will Dr. Lester Tenney.
Tank Radio Operator Lester I. Tenney, Company B, 192nd Tank Battalion, Illinois National guard out of Maywood, Illinois. Most recently stationed to Clark Field in 1941, most recently deployed to Lingayan Gulf, on the Bataan Peninsula, in 1942.
Today in Arlington, Private Lester Tenney, the youngest son of Gus and Fannie Tenenberg of 1200 West Sherwin avenue, Chicago, holder of the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, three Presidential Unit Citations, and the Prisoner of War Medal, the National Commander of the American Defenders of Bataan and Coregidor, one of the last survivors of the Bataan Death March, will represent that group for the 62nd consecutive time in the ceremonies.
Tenney is 88 years old, and because he lied about his age in order to enlist, is one of the youngest members of the organization. There are less than a hundred left, and they have decided to disband. Tenney was one of the founders of the group, which fought for 63 years to obtain a simple apology from the Japanese. Unlike American POWs of Nazi Germany, who received both apology and restitution, the Bataan Death March survivors (most of whom were also sold into slavery) were neither compensated nor apologized to.
Like many Americans, Lester Irwin Tenenberg (he changed his name to Tenney because that was his nickname in Camp 17) was the son of immigrants. In his case, Jewish immigrants from Germany. Like many former German Jews of that period, his bar mitzva, his Jewish coming of age (normally performed at the age of 13), was delayed by events, and forgotten about.
Last Saturday, at sixteen thirty hours, at Ohev Shalom Talmud Torah Synagogue in Washington DC, I had the privilege of seeing him called to stand at the torah for the very first time. He was accompanied by his stepson and his grandson, and their families. In fact, it was a triple bar mitzva. His stepson Donald Levi (65) and his grandson David levi (39) were called to the torah as well.
It is traditional for the Bar Mitzva Boy to give a short talk on the portion of the torah which was read. In this case, as it would happen, it was Lech Lecha, in which God told Abraham to leave his native land and his father’s house in Ur Kasdim (in Sumaria, now Iraq) for a land that God would show him, and in which Abraham and his family began their long march to Canaan (now in Israel). It was a longer march than Lester's, but, as he pointed out, Abraham had food, water, rest, and his family around him.
The one thing both shared was faith. "A lot of my friends on the death march never came back," Tenney said. "Those of us who survived all prayed to the same God. I never lost my faith in God.”
Nor did he lose his faith in the United States. "We were beaten and starved. We lost track of the time, and of the days, but we knew that one day, somehow, we would get home," he said.
Tenney collects American flags. And he gives them to schools, veterans homes, and other organizations. "The reason we fight is for the love of our flag," Tenney said. "It's a big part of our history and lives have been lost over it. People need to know their history and I intend to tell them."
"When I see our flag," he said, "it still moves me to tears."
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Exodus
Digger, in her blog "Life after Jerusalem," shares a recent article from Mother Jones about the exodus of FSOs from the service.
The article touches on a number of themes we have mentioned before: broken promises with regard to the training promised to FSOs who volunteer for Iraq and Afghanistan, failure to reward hardship service, failure to adequately fund our work, and in general, the practice we have described in this blog as making personnel decisions based on "what management can get away with rather than what is right."
The result, according to the article, is an exodus from the Foreign Service, causing a brain drain which can hurt our ability to advance America's interests overseas.
I am a bit older than Digger. Most of my age-mates are in the senior ranks, and one thing I can say for certain. More than half of the FSOs who entered on duty when I did have retired, most on the very first date they were eligible to do so.
They speak not only of promises broken to them, but of a failure by the current administration to use their expertise properly. This has been the first administration in years that, rather than treat FSOs as experts and expert advisers, treats them instead virtually as servants, as pawns whose sole function is to follow orders and carry out policies devised, in many cases, by people with far less Foreign Policy expertise than even a junior-level FSO would possess. A number of those retiring at the first opportunity have gone so far as to let it all hang out in angry speeches on their last day of service. It is sad that, for many senior officers, the only time they feel comfortable telling the current administration what they think is when they are literally hours away from an approved retirement.
During last night's presidential debates, both candidates mentioned the seriousness of situations affecting our relationships not just with Iraq and Iran, but with North Korea and Pakistan as well. In fact, in an era of global trade and regional alliances, when a person on a boat on a Swedish lake can dial a number and talk to a person on a mountain path in Waziristan, when one can walk into an internet cafe in virtually any country on earth and communicate with someone else in virtually any country, every relationship we have with any foreign government or population is serious.
The past eight years have shown us what happens when one ignores some relationships in favor of others, and when one makes decisions based on short-term political goals or narrowly focused political philosophies rather than seeking to build permanent relationships of peace, cooperation and respect with as many countries as possible.
I watched the debate last night with a group of people, most younger than I, and realized again that there are millions of Americans who literally do not remember when America was, as it was in my youth, a universally respected and trusted leader of the world community.
They do not remember when America was truly secure, because even most of our enemies respected not just our military strength but the values we actually stood for.
It is sad when the candidates of both parties have to address an American audience that is more concerned with protecting ourselves from those who hate us than it is with preserving our stature of respected international leadership which many Americans (and even some junior FSOs) literally no longer remember.
Either path (protection by military supremacy or the more difficult path of returning our country to a position of leadership by example)will require more than soundbites and politically correct rhetoric. It will require using the tools we have, letting our experts be experts, and investing money and resources in the agencies which can guide the leadership of our country along a path that both candidates claim they want to follow:
To do what is right for the American people, and not merely what is desired by a percentage of the population.
Every Foreign Service Officer is sworn to serve our nation, and not just our president. We need the resources and leadership to allow us to do that.
Every departing FSO that I have ever seen expresses anger and frustration among their reasons for departing the service. But without exception, every one also honestly regrets that they have been prevented from using their skills to serve our country; which was, for nearly all of us, our primary desire and motivation in joining the Service in the first place.
The article touches on a number of themes we have mentioned before: broken promises with regard to the training promised to FSOs who volunteer for Iraq and Afghanistan, failure to reward hardship service, failure to adequately fund our work, and in general, the practice we have described in this blog as making personnel decisions based on "what management can get away with rather than what is right."
The result, according to the article, is an exodus from the Foreign Service, causing a brain drain which can hurt our ability to advance America's interests overseas.
I am a bit older than Digger. Most of my age-mates are in the senior ranks, and one thing I can say for certain. More than half of the FSOs who entered on duty when I did have retired, most on the very first date they were eligible to do so.
They speak not only of promises broken to them, but of a failure by the current administration to use their expertise properly. This has been the first administration in years that, rather than treat FSOs as experts and expert advisers, treats them instead virtually as servants, as pawns whose sole function is to follow orders and carry out policies devised, in many cases, by people with far less Foreign Policy expertise than even a junior-level FSO would possess. A number of those retiring at the first opportunity have gone so far as to let it all hang out in angry speeches on their last day of service. It is sad that, for many senior officers, the only time they feel comfortable telling the current administration what they think is when they are literally hours away from an approved retirement.
During last night's presidential debates, both candidates mentioned the seriousness of situations affecting our relationships not just with Iraq and Iran, but with North Korea and Pakistan as well. In fact, in an era of global trade and regional alliances, when a person on a boat on a Swedish lake can dial a number and talk to a person on a mountain path in Waziristan, when one can walk into an internet cafe in virtually any country on earth and communicate with someone else in virtually any country, every relationship we have with any foreign government or population is serious.
The past eight years have shown us what happens when one ignores some relationships in favor of others, and when one makes decisions based on short-term political goals or narrowly focused political philosophies rather than seeking to build permanent relationships of peace, cooperation and respect with as many countries as possible.
I watched the debate last night with a group of people, most younger than I, and realized again that there are millions of Americans who literally do not remember when America was, as it was in my youth, a universally respected and trusted leader of the world community.
They do not remember when America was truly secure, because even most of our enemies respected not just our military strength but the values we actually stood for.
It is sad when the candidates of both parties have to address an American audience that is more concerned with protecting ourselves from those who hate us than it is with preserving our stature of respected international leadership which many Americans (and even some junior FSOs) literally no longer remember.
Either path (protection by military supremacy or the more difficult path of returning our country to a position of leadership by example)will require more than soundbites and politically correct rhetoric. It will require using the tools we have, letting our experts be experts, and investing money and resources in the agencies which can guide the leadership of our country along a path that both candidates claim they want to follow:
To do what is right for the American people, and not merely what is desired by a percentage of the population.
Every Foreign Service Officer is sworn to serve our nation, and not just our president. We need the resources and leadership to allow us to do that.
Every departing FSO that I have ever seen expresses anger and frustration among their reasons for departing the service. But without exception, every one also honestly regrets that they have been prevented from using their skills to serve our country; which was, for nearly all of us, our primary desire and motivation in joining the Service in the first place.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
September Eleventh
Today is September 11, and on this day seven years ago, two thousand nine hundred and seventy three innocent American citizens lost their lives. People died, families lost their loved ones, friends lost friends and colleagues.
It is a day to be remembered for all time. A day for reflection, and introspection, and memory. A day to consider the loss of people from our national life, and a day for their friends and family to know that our country is with them in their grief.
But at the risk of angering many of our readers, I would like to suggest that the nation must move on. This is my opinion. It is not a policy statement by Concerned Foreign Service Officers.
Psychologists like to speak about the five stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. And as a nation, we must continue our path through those stages.
For the past seven years, many of us have been locked in anger. Like the divorced person who harbors a bitter hatred for the opposite sex, we have let that anger affect our dealings not only with other nations, but even with their descendants in our community.
It is not constructive, and in the end, it is harmful to ourselves.
To be very honest, I think, our political leaders have facilitated us in our anger. It is easier to agree that "men/women are all pigs" than it is to be the one who says "it is time to get on with your life." But somebody has to say it.
It is time to get on with our lives.
That does not mean that we forget the loss and horror of this day, or that we should not honor those who died for no reason. This day should always be remembered.
But it is time for America, I think, to look around the world, and to relate to our friends, neighbors and other members of the international community of nations, in a way that is unaffected by the despicable actions of a small number of cowardly murderers.
To dress up again in our good clothes, put a smile on our face, and be the America that we were before that date. To assume again a true place of leadership in the world community.
Before everyone forgets why they used to like us.
And before we forget who we are and what we stand for.
Anger, bitterness, xenophobia and fear, were never before attributes anyone could have ever attributed to the America I grew up with.
Let us put those things back in their place, and move on.
It is a day to be remembered for all time. A day for reflection, and introspection, and memory. A day to consider the loss of people from our national life, and a day for their friends and family to know that our country is with them in their grief.
But at the risk of angering many of our readers, I would like to suggest that the nation must move on. This is my opinion. It is not a policy statement by Concerned Foreign Service Officers.
Psychologists like to speak about the five stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. And as a nation, we must continue our path through those stages.
For the past seven years, many of us have been locked in anger. Like the divorced person who harbors a bitter hatred for the opposite sex, we have let that anger affect our dealings not only with other nations, but even with their descendants in our community.
It is not constructive, and in the end, it is harmful to ourselves.
To be very honest, I think, our political leaders have facilitated us in our anger. It is easier to agree that "men/women are all pigs" than it is to be the one who says "it is time to get on with your life." But somebody has to say it.
It is time to get on with our lives.
That does not mean that we forget the loss and horror of this day, or that we should not honor those who died for no reason. This day should always be remembered.
But it is time for America, I think, to look around the world, and to relate to our friends, neighbors and other members of the international community of nations, in a way that is unaffected by the despicable actions of a small number of cowardly murderers.
To dress up again in our good clothes, put a smile on our face, and be the America that we were before that date. To assume again a true place of leadership in the world community.
Before everyone forgets why they used to like us.
And before we forget who we are and what we stand for.
Anger, bitterness, xenophobia and fear, were never before attributes anyone could have ever attributed to the America I grew up with.
Let us put those things back in their place, and move on.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Patriotism
Patriot: From the Greek "Patris," fatherland and "iot", a native person. A person of the fatherland.
In common use these days, a person who defends the fatherland. But it could be anyone who defines him/herself as being of the fatherland and assumes the responsibilities of a native.
It is sad that the current meaning of the word has become narrow and divisive. As if there were rules defining who can and cannot call themselves a patriot. It should not be a club that is difficult to enter.
A soldier is certainly a patriot. But so is anyone who does anything, in any way, in a purposeful effort to improve, advance, develop, protect, feed, educate, house, clothe, or even entertain America. Or to protect the values that our country represents.
Today, on the 232nd anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, America stands more divided than it has ever been in my lifetime.
This might be a good day to reflect on what America really stands for, and what values we want to present to the world.
This might be a good place to start: click
Happy Birthday America.
In common use these days, a person who defends the fatherland. But it could be anyone who defines him/herself as being of the fatherland and assumes the responsibilities of a native.
It is sad that the current meaning of the word has become narrow and divisive. As if there were rules defining who can and cannot call themselves a patriot. It should not be a club that is difficult to enter.
A soldier is certainly a patriot. But so is anyone who does anything, in any way, in a purposeful effort to improve, advance, develop, protect, feed, educate, house, clothe, or even entertain America. Or to protect the values that our country represents.
Today, on the 232nd anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, America stands more divided than it has ever been in my lifetime.
This might be a good day to reflect on what America really stands for, and what values we want to present to the world.
This might be a good place to start: click
Happy Birthday America.
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