Touched Monkey

Birds and Planes....

This will sound silly, as many of my connections do, but something came together for me with the words of Jedi Master Yoda. Luke Skywalker was rushing off to save Han, Chewy and Leia - and Yoda wanted Luke to stay when Luke exclaimed, "...and let them die?!" and Yoda simply stated, "If you honor what they fight for, yes."

It's a huge issue and a very bold point. Now, Luke leaves anyway, because he wishes to save them. He understands the odds are against him and I'm willing to bet that if he died trying he would accept it as an honorable death. Because in the end, he supports their cause enough to either rescue them or die along side them in the conflict. Now, that's honor. That's an honor many of us would be lucky to receive, wouldn't we? I mean, to have someone actually take a stance and say, "No harm will come to you. Not on my watch." Can you imagine?

Well folks, each and every one of us receives this honor everyday. All day. All year round. Twenty four hours a day, 365 days a year we have people putting their life on the line to keep us, our ideas, our values, our freedom and our future, alive. Bet you didn't think about that while you were cursing the Taco Bell drive-thru for forgetting your hot sauce.... Again!

You see, our first president was one of the many great men who fought to establish this great nation. A warrior who believed in freedom, the pursuit of happiness and no taxation without representation just to name a few. And since that time we have established a long tradition of bettering our way of life and striving to make the ideas of our forefathers come true. And since that time there have been men like him fighting to keep those ideas alive. Putting their lives on the line to protect our lives. Keeping the armies who don't believe in personal freedoms or an individual's right to choose - out of our borders. It is because of those men and women that we enjoy our freedom.

I think we, as Americans, often take our freedoms for granted. We've wallowed in them for so long that we can't imagine life without them. We enjoy our freedom of speech and use it to write semi-witty Weekly Commentary columns, we walk down to Starbucks and get the Mocha-Grande Frilly Deluxe and debate our government when they won't subsidize the creation of manure sculptures and we bitch about our taking of the land from the Indians and we have heated arguments over whether they should be called Indians or Native Americans and we curse the automobile industry for polluting our environment while we drive to work in our '67 Cadillac gas guzzler and we fight for the rights of the underdogs and the minorities like the midgets who get thrown in local pubs and we debate our government budget proposals to increase military spending....

Well, it's important to remember why you are able to enjoy those freedoms and a million more we never stop to think about. And it's also important to remember, the same people who fight and die for your freedom to burn our flag, are the same ones who raise one everyone morning to salute it. Because, while to some it may be just another symbol like a Pepsi sticker on a stock car, to them it is a symbol for something they believe in so whole heartedly that they would lay down there lives to protect and serve it. They carry it with them everywhere they go as a reminder of who they are protecting. Who they are proudly serving. Who they are allowing to sleep soundly at night without the fear of invasion.

There are still great evils in the world that lurk in the shadows and hide with a smile. There are still bad people who would like to take our belongings and not all of them are petty thieves, rapists and murders. Not in the individual stance anyway. And while you may not always support the president, you should support your country. For the country is you, me, our ideas that formed our nation, the ideals we strive to uphold, the truth, the liberty, the freedom and the justice that we try to bring to life everyday. For, "Peace is not just the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice." and we are far from living on a peaceful planet.

So remember that and be proud. Be proud you are part of a great governmental experiment that has been strong for over 200 years. Be proud that there are men and women who are risking everything for you and your beliefs and in return, be proud of them. Be proud of our armed forces that have and continue to step up to the plate and protect our freedoms and ideas. Hell, our ideas are so great we even have Superman on our side... An alien who came to us from another galaxy to uphold truth, justice, and apparently, the American Way. He certainly isn't protecting the Chinese way.

Look for Mr. Sweeney's article, "What if we were as forceful as Hitler in enforcing freedom?" later this week.

**The opinions expressed in Weekly Commentary are those of Mr. Sweeney and his alone. Any attempt at finding sanity or logic in his rantings are feeble, at best.