WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS WEEKEND?
Posted on 03 November 2006 by Mario
Marine Lance Cpl. Jesus A. Suarez Del Solar
What are you doing this weekend?
Some of you will walk for your favorite candidates. Some of you may vote. Some of you will do none of the above.
Right now over a hundred thousand Americans and aspiring Americans are fighting in Iraq. Their tours of duty have been extended again and again. It must seem like one of those nightmares that you know you are having but can’t get yourself to wake from.
I say “aspiring Americans” because one of our national dirty little secrets that folks like Lou Dobbs keep from you is that there are thousands of what are referred to as “green card marines” serving in Iraq and Afganistan. These are Latino immigrants that are serving thier adopted America. The fact is that many of the “green card marines” have not even been afforded green cards yet. Yes Lou, there is more evidence of patriots coming over our southern border than there is of terrorists using that route.
I wonder what kind of guts it takes to want to be part of another country so badly that you would literally risk your life for it. I wonder how it feels, after demonstrating that courage, to hear that politicians and pundits are making their carriers by blaming all the country’s ills on you and those like you. I wonder if while taking fire from the enemy green card marines can hear draft deferred Rush Limbaugh over military radio talking about Latinos not assimilating.
The intersection of the failed war in Iraq and our failed immigration policy is very telling. Both came about because of politicians that are more committed to their party than to America. Both come at the expense of our country’s best traditions and its very reason for being. Both are apparently too complicated for the GOP “leadership” to deal with.
However both the failed war policy and failed immigration policy highlight the individual courage of those that are, and aspire to be, Americans. Both show that as individuals people can stand above and beyond their elected leadership and do the right thing even when mislead or abused.
However enough is enough. I can’t think of anything more important for us here at home to do this weekend than get out the vote for Democratic house and Senate candidates. We need leadership that will hold the President accountable. We need leadership that will bring sanity to the debate on Iraq and the debate on immigration. We need leadership that understands the true meaning of hard work and courage. We need leadership that puts America over party. In essence: we need leadership that is worthy of our country.
This weekend our troops in Iraq will mix together without regard for national origin or immigration status. The danger that surrounds them seems to erase those divisions. This weekend our troops will be taking fire and hoping for some type of end to their nightmare. This weekend a green card marine will watch the back of a citizen soldier and deliberately move into enemy territory just because an order was given and honor matters. This weekend some soldiers may die in their quest to either protect the freedom that was their birthright or to earn that freedom through raw, unadulterated, courage.
What will you do this weekend?
Popularity: 2% [?]
November 5th, 2006 at 6:43 am
Hey Chance, are you blaming our loss in Iraq on the troops?
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May 13th, 2007 at 7:41 am