There's actually something mildly refreshing about a commentator openly scoffing at patriotism rather than feebly asserting that he isn't unpatriotic, as American left-wingers are wont to do. Then again, such defensiveness is better than spitting on veterans, which seven of our readers, responding to yesterday's item on the subject, said happened to them or to a loved one during the Vietnam era. Reader Jack Else, a retired U.S. Air Force major, reflects on how things have changed:
Soldiers were spit on. I was. It was September 1972 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. I had just gotten off duty, was still in uniform, and was on campus to pick up my wife.
Flash forward nearly 20 years, to May 3, 1991. I had just returned from the first Gulf War (or as I called it the Great Unfinished Gulf War). For personal reasons I returned alone without my unit, which arrived about 10 days later. I arrived at Plattsburg Air Force Base, in upstate New York, and was put on a military bus for JFK and a civilian flight. I was tired and dirty, hadn't bathed for about three days, slept in my uniform; pack on my back, duffle bag and M-92. I did not look like a recruiting poster.
As I got off the bus at the American Airlines terminal at JFK I was very apprehensive. Why? We didn't have cell phones, we didn't have the Internet. We didn't have blogs. Mail was spotty. All we had were CNN, Peter Arnett, et al. I took a deep breath, entered the terminal and people stopped and stared--and then they applauded.
That Budweiser commercial took me back 14 years and made me cry.
It's still happening, says reader Greg Gilbert:
Last Thursday I was on a flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Portland, Ore. There were four servicemen returning home for a two-week leave from Iraq. As the plane arrived at the gate in Portland, the pilot mentioned and thanked the servicemen for their service and asked that they be allowed to disembark first. As each of them walked toward the front of the plane, the rest of the passengers erupted in spontaneous applause. It's tough to do a standing ovation in an MD-80, but that's exactly what they got.
The feeling of appreciation of the passengers on the plane was palpable as they patted the servicemen on the back as they walked by and said "thank you." Best of all, it was real people expressing appreciation for the service of these men. A commercial could not have done the moment justice.
These are great stories, made by real patriots. A patriot, as defined by Webster, is "one who loves his or her country and supports its authority and interests." It is clear these people can definitely be defined as patriots. There are many such people in the world, just as there are many people who live in America and are definitely NOT patriots. They don't care about living in America; they merely take what it gives them and use it. Equally sad are those who live in America, say they love America, but at the same time, do nothing but complain about America, what it does, and what it is. How can you love something, yet complain about it all the time? I've seen family relationships and marriages like that; they call it dysfunctional.
Well, enough of that. I'm not writing this to complain about such people. I'm writing this to pay my own tribute to those brave men and women who put themselves in harm's way for our rights, for our interests, and for our security. I have a story of my own, which I sent to Best of the Web just for further proof that there are so many of us that fully realize the gravity and sacrifice of our soldiers' presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. Here's what I sent:
This past summer, I was travelling on business to Atlanta. As I was walking through the terminal in preparation for my departing flight, I passed a large group of soldiers, at least 100-200, all in battle dress, holding their gear, and waiting patiently in line. Seeing that they were checking in for a domestic flight, I assumed they were on their way home, so I asked where they were headed. All responded with the same answer: "Afghanistan."
They weren't on their way back from the front, they were on their way there.
I don't know any active soldiers personally. All of the military people I know have long since retired. However, all I could do was marvel at these men. While the group was somewhat subdued, all were very pleasant, none somber or sad. Most were talking pleasantly with each other as they killed time in the line. They were a true slice of America...many different colors of hair and skin, many different accents (I heard at least 4 as I passed by), all standing together. They knew where they were going and why, and they did it willingly, for all of us.
All I could do was shake as many hands as possible, smile, and thank them for going. I felt prouder to be an American at that moment than at any other moment in my life.
God bless America.
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