Originally Posted by
JDFP
I'd like to extend a thank you to all the men and women who have served in the American armed forces, and all the men and women of Europe and elsewhere who have stood with us as a nation. God bless each of you for your service, your conviction in standing firm to our country and to the American way of life on this day.
I'd like to include a poem I wrote last night for Memorial Day. This is for all the great Americans in the past and all the great Americans who will come to be.
* * * * *
An American Apologia
31 May 2010
Do you remember a time?
Once when we were all proud to call ourselves Americans,
not just some, like me, who still hold tears tight,
when patriotic songs echo through the dog barked night.
When we put our hands to our heart,
proclaiming "America, God shed His grace on thee!",
and truly meant it, leaving jaded cynicism at bay.
Do you remember a time?
Do you recall the first time you heard Lee Greenwood belt out,
"I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free,
and I won't forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me."
Did you feel goosebumps on your skin,
did your eyes water with emotion?
Or was it dismissed as patriotic jargon?
Do you remember a time?
When your father, your grandfather,
he told you about the fear he had,
as he stormed onto the beach of Normandy,
about the friends he watched as they were killed,
but not stopping in his forward march?
Was it pure American propaganda that drove him that day,
or was it something more within him, inside all Americans?
Do you remember a time?
When we as a people worked damn hard,
so we could build something of our lives,
so our children could be lifted on the shoulder of our work,
for a time we could proclaim:
"Yes, my son, my daughter, they have a better life because of me,"
as these fathers and grandfathers looked at their callused and blistered hands.
Was it only Capitalist exploitation of people,
or was it something more inside these people that drove them onward?
Was it something else that made us into America?
Do you remember a time?
When leaders proclaimed:
"...Together, with God's help,
we can and will resolve the problems which now confront us.
And, after all, why shouldn't we believe that?
We are Americans."
Do you recall the emotion we felt,
as children when we came to realize
it was morning time in America again?
Where, dear morning, are we now headed as the day subsides?
And now some leaders cannot even place their hands on their heart,
during the pledge, for fear of reprisal from a few.
Do you remember a time?
There were riders on the silver screen.
Men like John Wayne and Charlton Heston,
they stood with courage for their convictions,
feeling pride for their country and what She stands for,
what She still stands for to this day.
And now actors threaten to leave the country,
if their political candidate is not voted into office by mass acclaim.
Do you remember a time?
America was built by heroes,
our forefathers stood by the blood in their hearts,
men like Francis Scott Key watched as the bombs,
they burst into air over Fort McHenry,
but he saw in the dawn, yes, our flag, our freedom,
our banner was still there.
A foreshadowing of men,
like Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant,
who held their country dear.
Have you ever truly listened to the words of the Star Spangled Banner,
other than quickly brushing it aside in anticipation of what comes after?
Do you remember a time?
Do you recall when America sill had heroes,
men like Chuck Yaeger, John Glenn, Buzz Aldrin,
they risked their lives, the loss of their families,
for the faith we put into them to go one more mile,
to reach further into the unknown than any nation,
any people, had ever done before.
Do you recall where you were the day "one small step" was reached?
Does your heart still break at re-watching the Challenger,
as those brave men and women slipped the surly bonds of earth,
to touch the face of God?
Do we still have the ability for heroes,
or is this swept away with our continued debasement of political persuasion?
Do you remember a time?
The first time you looked out from the water to see Lady Liberty's torch,
touch the steps to Lincoln in his memorial,
where brave men like King proclaimed their love of country,
did you silently observe at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier,
watch in awe as you witnessed row, after row, at Arlington Cemetery.
And did you weep at the Vietnam wall?
Was there one name that stood out to you more,
a name etched eternally on your memory?
Do you remember a time?
Do you recall Pearl Harbor, JFK, 9/11?
Did you weep as your father, your grandfather,
told you that he loved you while you were in fear?
Did you witness as your son, brother, daughter, sister,
as they stood for their comrades in Afghanistan and Iraq?
Did you thank them for their service, for their standing firm for America?
Or did you brush them off as being pawns in a continuing political game?
Did you weep for your friend at work, school,
for the family member that hasn't come or won't come home alive?
And did they weep for you in turn?
Do you remember a time?
A time when you did your part,
a time when you made an imprint on our great nation,
a time when you served or gave thanks and appreciation for those who did?
When was the last time you visited a grave of one who fell?
Do you recall the last "thank you" you gave to our servicemen and women?
Do you remember a time?
When you stopped to lay aside your Democrat or Republican badge,
when you put aside your politics and diatribes,
when you last looked upon our flag waving with grace in the sky?
When you stopped a second from chastising parties and affiliations,
to realize the flag flies over us all?
Do you remember the last time you bowed your head before Old Glory,
for the sacrifice so many have and will continue to give?
Do you remember a time,
when you last did your part?
For all veterans who have given their lives for our freedom.
For all Americans, our time to stand proud is always.
"And how stand the city [America] on this winter night?...after two hundred years, two centuries, She still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and Her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And She's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home." -- Ronald Wilson Reagan
j.p.
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