Far and away the single greatest tragedy to this and similar events of late is the fact that all of it is being carried out at the scene by...other Americans, if the term still holds any value. Perhaps a poll could clarify the relevance of the term when used without the obligatory hyphen which has become so popular.
Beyond the bureaucrats who are making the decisions to inflict as much "political pain" as can be attained, and deserve our scorn for it, ultimately it is John Q. Public -govt. worker who is swallowing whatever dignity they have left and muttering about "Just following orders" or "just doing my job" that makes it all possible. How does one look into the eyes of a veteran, who in the twilight of his years makes a pilgrimage to a monument he made sacred, and tell him he is not welcome? Particularly when that refusal occurs over the din and music of a rally for illegal immigrants a few hundred yards away.
I was never in the service so I can't speak from first hand knowledge, but I had heard that all servicemen are required to take an oath to disobey any order which they deem to be immoral. Is that true, and does it still hold credence? If so, does that end when the uniform comes off or does it carry on? For that matter, and not to excuse myself, should that not carry forward to all civilians/citizens? All of these things in the news, the memorial/park closings, denial of military funeral and death benefits, and evictions from homes on federal lands all boil down to us making it so...doesn't it?
Sorry to hijack this thread for my own rant, but I need to get it out. I keep catching myself muttering "Who the hell do these people think they are?" as each new event occurs. I imagine there's a lot of that going on with other folks too. It led me to think on the question "Who the hell am I?". I don't relish the idea of jeopardizing the income my family needs to get by, but I don't think I could do as others have with that as my only motivation. I read once that "Dishonorable bread tastes of ash", I forget where but it sticks in my mind. I guess that's the answer to my question. Maybe that's the question we will all have to answer before anything gets better.
