The Greatest Generations

by
Suzann Darnall

While I do not dispute that the American people and their allies most assuredly earned the nickname "The Greatest Generation", as they faced the Axis Powers in World War II, I do feel that our history has been replete with generations of Americans who have done great things. Especially in times of war. From those who fought in the Revolutionary War to those who fight Islamic Terrorism around the world today, our American military has been filled with great generations.

My own family has a strong history of military service. Men from my family have fought all the way back to the Revolutionary War. We had brothers fight on both sides of the Civil War. My grandfather and several great-uncles (from both sides of my family) fought in WWII. My husband's step-father celebrated his 18th birthday storming the beach at Anzio. One of my father's uncles died during the Anzio landing. My father and my uncle served in Vietnam. My father and my husband served in the Cold War. The war where our military did not come face to face with weaponry, but faced Mutually Assured Destruction on a daily basis. My brother served as a military nurse and still serves as a nurse with the Veterans Administration. His battles have been against the different kind of enemies facing our military and veterans: injury, disease, old age, and death.

One of our dear friends and neighbors is a WWII veteran. He suffered substantial wounds in the war. He managed to survive. He served with honor. And, he has hopes of making an Honor Flight to Washington, DC in the near future. He wants to see the memorial and share a bit of time with other veterans from his military era. I think he deserves to do so.

Thus, it was with great dismay that I watched the episode that took place at the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC. That they would even consider blocking these brave warriors from seeing the tribute that was built for them, is an outrage. To see our government and this administration go out of their way to play politics and try to use an Honor Flight group out of Mississippi as a pawn in their game of one-upmanship kinda put a whole lot of what is wrong with our government into perspective for me.

For one thing, the WWII Memorial is not in an enclosure. It is not manned by gatekeepers or guards. It does not have gates, fences, or barriers. It is an open mall or park. To block out the veterans' tour group they actually had to specifically send workers over to the memorial with barriers and set up the blockade. Hmmm . . . they say they had to close parks, memorials, and monuments because they had to furlough workers due to a lack funding to pay them, yet they sent workers out of their way to do a job that is not a regular part of their duties??? Seems to me another waste of taxpayer funds through the stupidity and cupidity of politicians.

I feel a lot of what goes on in DC is a maze of that same stupidity and cupidity, with a lot of duplicity thrown into the mix. But, I do want to take a brief moment to acknowledge that in a rare instance of bipartisanship both Republicans AND Democrats from the House AND the Senate helped remove the barriers and allow the veterans into their memorial. It is about time these people did something like real work to actually earn the overabundant salaries we pay them!

Although I hold most of the Washington, DC crowd in great disdain at this time, it is not for shutting down the government, rather it is for not shutting down enough of the government . . . PERMANENTLY! I mean, come on! We can furlough 800,000 federal employees as being non-essential, yet no one can ever find 100,000 or so government jobs that could be cut to save a few million dollars here and there? Ninety-three percent of the Environmental Protection Agency personnel are considered non-essential. So, why in the heck do we even have the EPA? The government bureaucracies and payrolls are filled with this kind of fraud, waste, and abuse. It should not be allowed to continue.

I am also angry that they are shutting down places that are not even funded by federal moneys. I also find it questionable that many of the parks, memorials, and monuments do not bring in enough tourist dollars to pay for at least minimum staffing without government funds being kicked in. I dislike the games our politicians, and especially Obama, are playing. These are people's lives they are playing with. This is a game of chicken even more deadly than that played by teenagers in cars. It isn't just a pink-slip or car wreck at stake here, it is a nation. A nation filled with people who need a government and leaders who realize that they are public servants. Our politicians need to stop thinking of us as taxpayers and acknowledge that we are citizens. That it is we who are that group known as "We the people"!

Perhaps they need to read the Preamble to be reminded:

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Well, there are an awful lot of us "We the people" who are reading and finding out what's in it. We are reading the Constitution, ObamaCare, newspapers, and blogs, as well as finding out information over the internet, through television and radio, and with discussions among friends or neighbors. We are doing rallies, town halls, and other meetings. We are discovering that we are not alone. We have others who feel like we do. Who feel it is time to take back our country. Time to remove the barriers. The barriers put up around our freedom like those put up around the WWII Memorial.

Those WWII veterans fought, and their compatriots died, to defend this nation and this world from oppressors. Just as Americans have fought and died from the very beginnings of this nation to protect our freedom. I think it is time we all realize that not all fights for freedom take place on battlefields with weapons and bloodshed. Some of the most important battles are fought with words. We must make sure the words that win are the truth, 'cause lies can be very sharp and piercing, inflicting great harm with their shiny little points. Obama and his ilk are very willing to cut a wide swath through the truth with their broadswords of lies. They will hack away at the truth in their efforts to stop Americans from regaining the liberties that were earned through more than 200 years of fighting with weapons and words by great heroes of our nation.

Don't let any of our Greatest Generations have fought or died in vain. Stand up for what is right. Defend the truth. Unite behind those who are willing to face down Obama. Those who will point out the falsehoods of Washington, DC and do their best to stand for us, the American citizens who elected them.

© Suzann C. Darnall, OCTOBER 2013