Chuck Simmins adds:
Here’s the story of a Marine, a real Marine. One that would make Gunnery Sergeant Tom Highway proud.AWOL, positive drug test, busted to buck private. By all rights he should have given up. No promotions, no medals, low man on the totem pole forever.
He didn’t give up. He was the best Marine he could be. And in the hand-to-hand urban fighting in Fallujah II, he earned the Silver Star.
You may feel, as a conservative, that America, most Americans, and your own party have let you down. But remember one group that has kept the faith so gloriously as to make all other failures evanescent and meaningless. These men and women - the ones who survive, of course - are the leaders of tomorrow. How can you know this and not know equally well how bright a future we therefore face?
Submit to Stumbled Upon!
I’m sorry, Bill, you might have just persuaded me to vote for John McCain.
If you haven’t read this article by Christopher Hitchens from the November issue of Vanity Fair, then I highly recommend it. It will bring both a lump to the throat, as well as pride in that which makes America strong, reinforcing Bill’s (and my) faith in the brightness of our future. A very small excerpt, but read the whole thing.
I’m thinking of recommending that voters should start to ask candidates running for office, currently at the local level, later on at the congressional and national level: “Did you serve in Iraq or Desert Storm?”
No, I don’t think it should be an official requirement - that’s Heinleinian fantasy stuff - but I do think thoughtful voters should take cognizance of such service, and weigh it accordingly.