The image below is not about me – it is about the size of the flag – and the size of the hearts of two men I met at RightOnline.
No, this post is not about the ‘Grok, what I did or what I said; it is rather, about two older gentlemen that taught me a lesson – old soldiers do not just fade away.
They stand, always ready to respond to" a call to arms" when their nation’s principles are in danger; they live on and are willing learn to fight another way.
I have encapsulated this story in a thank you email to Corey Lewandowski, the NH State Director of Americans for Prosperity (er, a bit edited from the email):
Hi Corey!
BOTH TMEW and I want to THANK you so much for the sponsorship to RightOnline….
…While the ad hoc roundtable was probably the best blogger highpoint, there was a much more indelible mark that was made on my outlook of what the RightOnline conference really means. Also sitting at the table with TMEW, Candice, and I were retired servicemen: Lt. Col. "Lou" from the 82nd Airborne that is just getting started online, and Col. "Ed", retired from the Air Force. Since the Eldest served in the Marines (Iraq) and Youngest is now in the 101st Airborne (in Afghanistan right now), I thanked them for their service. I found out about Lou’s service during the pre-dinner chatting, and learned that he had served in both Viet Nam and in Desert Storm….
Ed, however, arrived late and I learned of his service only when the Pledge was said. Unlike most of us who put their hands over their hearts, he stiffly and slowly snapped to a hand salute – the mark of a seasoned veteran. I asked him about that, and had a few minutes (before the speakers started) to chat with him and found out that he had served in Viet Nam and over his career, flew over 450 combat missions. Like many Viet vets, he almost broke down at the table when I softly said "thank you, for your service."
We met up again with Lou and his friend, Barbara, Saturday morning. She was looking for coffee and I mentioned the Continental breakfast that AFP was putting on – a smile came over her face. After taking the elevator up and walking into the room (talking about Sharron Angle’s race against Harry Reid in AZ), the talk came back around to his service and Lou talked about part of what he did during Desert Storm: arranging the troop rotations in and out of theatre (essentially, deciding how and when this unit comes home and another deploys to take its place) – and the homecomings that were a part of it.
I told him about the PeaseGreeters in NH and the Bangor TroopGreeters in ME, and described the enthusiastic ceremonies in NH and the early AM vigils in ME. I explained what happened when Dan came home (and yes, I got a wee bit emotional) and he got a lot more. He confirmed what I already knew from the TroopGreeters ; MANY of those that show up and determined, despite their advancing age and deteriorating physical condition, to ensure that what happened to them will NEVER happen to our current troops. Never again will those that serve come home to America and be vilified and spit on. Never again will they be considered baby killers and refused employment.
And now, like many of the speakers on Sat morning at the General Session analogized, many vets like them (and Jack Kimball here in NH) have heeded a virtual "call to arms" to continue their oaths (and Lou and Ed BOTH brought that up) and defend their country, their Constitution, and the principles on which we have been founded. They are learning anew the art of war – a new kind of war, one of ideas that requires new tactics. And they are eager to learn about this new battlefield called the Internet with its websites, blogsites, Twitter, Myspace, FaceBook, Ning, collaborative software, and other new tools.
And RightOnline is where they came for their "the virtual bootcamp" to defend Liberty and Freedom once again. Rifles and flight controls are now beyond their physical capability – manning a keyboard is not.
And Americans for Prosperity, via the RightOnline conference, is their new armorer.
Kindest Regards,
-Skip and TMEW
Indeed – we are at a crossroads and we are in a war. Will America succumb to the siren call of Progressivism, of incremental Socialism (where all is free and managed for you by elites controlling an "ordered society" if you just give up a wee bit more of your actual freedom)? Or will it "Go Back To The Future" to the real philosophy of American Exceptionalism?
Make no mistake – we are in a war and the battle will be fought here in NH on September 14 (primaries) and again in November. We are in a war, a deadly war, of whether or not we will continue to be free and govern ourselves or will we allow a group of self-styled elitists harness a leviathan of an unelected bureaucracy that will use the cuts of a thousand pieces of paper based regulations to install an un-voted upon tyranny?
Which side to you stand on? Or are you merely on the sidelines…..
