Joe Hittle
24th May 2008, 02:44 PM (14:44)
I've taken the time to clean this up from what it was when I received it. I seldom ever do mass mailings, and never simply hit forward when receiving "spam," but I thought this was worth a little extra effort as we celebrate Memorial Day here in America.
I hope you appreciate the rework.
Joe
=================================
It is the
VETERAN,
not the preacher, theologian nor philosopher
who has
provided the freedom of religion to us.
It is the
VETERAN,
not the reporter or television anchor,
who has provided the freedom of the press for us.
It is the
VETERAN,
not the poet nor the orator,
who has provided freedom of speech on our behalf.
It is the
VETERAN,
not the campus organizer,
who has provided freedom to assemble for us to gather, dissent and even worship together.
It is the
VETERAN,
not the lawyer,
who has provided the right to a fair trial in which to defend our personal honor.
It is the
VETERAN,
not the politician,
who has provided us the right to vote in a land which, not perfect, is still by far the best there is in which to raise a family and to participate in society.
It is the
VETERAN
who salutes the Flag, without fail, without shame, without reluctance.
It is the
VETERAN
who has served, and others like him who currently serve, under the Flag, without thought of personal safety, without demands of fair recompense, without the need to shirk or apologize for doing so.
We can, should and MUST be very proud of our men and women in the Service of the County (that's US folks) no matter where they serve. Without them we would still have the rigors of serfdom, illiteracy, and political tyranny to suffer.
Of course, they have only provided the gift which the Creator has given in the form of "inalienable rights" recognized by those who were brave enough to stand up for them so long ago, and across the years. It might be said that the Declaration of Independence, our Constitution and the Bill of Rights were the invention of men like Jefferson, but let us never forget that even those men were pushed to success by those who fought for their ideals because they believed them to be correct.
And yes, this Memorial Day, we also honor those who have gone before us directly, blazing the paths, suffering the pains of progress and providing for us the opportunity to enjoy the privileges of being American, all while never spending a single day in military service.
It's a day of rememberance!
May God Bless them all!!!
I hope you appreciate the rework.
Joe
=================================
It is the
VETERAN,
not the preacher, theologian nor philosopher
who has
provided the freedom of religion to us.
It is the
VETERAN,
not the reporter or television anchor,
who has provided the freedom of the press for us.
It is the
VETERAN,
not the poet nor the orator,
who has provided freedom of speech on our behalf.
It is the
VETERAN,
not the campus organizer,
who has provided freedom to assemble for us to gather, dissent and even worship together.
It is the
VETERAN,
not the lawyer,
who has provided the right to a fair trial in which to defend our personal honor.
It is the
VETERAN,
not the politician,
who has provided us the right to vote in a land which, not perfect, is still by far the best there is in which to raise a family and to participate in society.
It is the
VETERAN
who salutes the Flag, without fail, without shame, without reluctance.
It is the
VETERAN
who has served, and others like him who currently serve, under the Flag, without thought of personal safety, without demands of fair recompense, without the need to shirk or apologize for doing so.
We can, should and MUST be very proud of our men and women in the Service of the County (that's US folks) no matter where they serve. Without them we would still have the rigors of serfdom, illiteracy, and political tyranny to suffer.
Of course, they have only provided the gift which the Creator has given in the form of "inalienable rights" recognized by those who were brave enough to stand up for them so long ago, and across the years. It might be said that the Declaration of Independence, our Constitution and the Bill of Rights were the invention of men like Jefferson, but let us never forget that even those men were pushed to success by those who fought for their ideals because they believed them to be correct.
And yes, this Memorial Day, we also honor those who have gone before us directly, blazing the paths, suffering the pains of progress and providing for us the opportunity to enjoy the privileges of being American, all while never spending a single day in military service.
It's a day of rememberance!
May God Bless them all!!!