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June 14, 2006
Ordinary Guys-The Hero's Mission
by Tina Grazier
An incredible thing happened in the midst of the horror, shock, pain and loss of September 11, 2001. Americans discovered newly, and some for the first time, the mettle of true hero's.
Prior to the falling of the towers, we held athletes, movie stars,..
singers
and musicians up as our role models. These players and pretenders
were the icons of greatness in our jaded world, especially in the minds of our children. But on that day the imagery, lights and hoopla of "entertainment events" were relegated to their rightly place. Most of us, as we watched our TV screens, saw life in full color and form; life with the distinguishing mark of an inescapable truth...this is real and it won't end when we turn off the TV. In a series of continuous frames, one after another, we saw ordinary guys, firemen, policemen, paramedics, and others commit to the next thing, and the next until utter and complete exhaustion took over...and still they persevered. Their acts of courage and sacrifice were beyond our normal expectations and touched our hearts in ways we had not previously experienced. 911 will be remembered for the mindless
destruction of lives, families, friendships, jobs and buildings but it will also stand as the day that would bring into sharp focus the special qualities that make men...men.
Life's defining moments fade from our memories with the passage of
time so it is wise to remind ourselves of the lessons we might have
learned from them. I decided to share these thoughts because of the
recent events in Iraq and in anticipation of Fathers Day. It's important to appreciate the qualities that make the men in our lives special and valuable. It's especially important to continue to honor those who, when called to duty in extraordinary circumstances, never hesitate but instead give their all until the goal has been achieved and the job is complete.
The qualities that make men great in extraordinary times are the same
in ordinary life, just more so. To all men of fortitude and valor I say thank you. To those who are also fathers, I thank you too, for passing this legacy on to your sons. To our troops, a special thank you. You do double duty,sacrificing family time as you also serve us and our country. God bless you all, and God bless the mission, wherever and whatever it may be.
Posted by Post Scripts at June 14, 2006 09:39 PM
Comments
Tina, this is a wonderful tribute to our soldiers, policeman and fireman that are called upon to do extraordinary things in our most challenging times. I commend you for writing it and I feel the same way.
However, any praise we might offer them is offset by those other "Americans" on the far left, who support criminal trials for international terrorists, who demand release of prisoners at Gitmo, who leak secrets for the sake of a headline or hold soldiers to unreasonable standards of conduct never invisioned in war in our history or anywhere else in the world.
I'm sickened by the people that don't support our troops, that actually hope we will lose so it will advance their own narrow radical agenda for taking power away from conservatives.
As I write, some good soldiers are facing court martial for doing their duty, held as POWS in stateside brigs. Others, back in Iraq or Afghanistan, are being denied the conventional tools of warfare, tools they were trained to use and instead forced to fight a soft war with all the restrictive rules of a police officer in California. This is the un-real reality of this situation.
God bless our men and women in uniform, everywhere. I wish *all* Americans would support them half as much as people like Tina!
Posted by: Jack Lee at June 14, 2006 07:54 AM
Jack, We are in total agreement. I've been upset about "upside down attitudes" with respect to our military and police since the late sixties & seventies.
Today is Flag Day and the US Army's (231st?) birthday...it's a good day to speak of these things. Speaking my mind (and heart) is the least I can do. If I thought slapping someone up side the head would do any good I guess I'd do that too. Let's pray that in time our words will be sufficient to penetrate those thick skulls. In the mean time, I take comfort in the knowledge that since the flower power generation's fall from grace, many of us have found our voices and are determined to see the fight on the homefront through to the end. We are gaining ground! And I believe those power hungry Radicals, who are sickening as he**, are doomed for same, if not actually, then for sure politically.
I think from what I've read that Haditha will become another Valerie Plame story...Time is already under scrutiny. Of course that does nothing to comfort or assist the accused and their families. The MS media is even more sickening in their absolute absense of good character. They are lower than the lowest of tabloids! At least the STAR is an honest Rag; an obvious creator of the sensational.
Posted by: Tina at June 14, 2006 08:35 PM