A Moral Compass
When the traveling Vietnam Wall came to the Outer Banks, the trailer displayed artifacts which had been left at the wall. One had a photo of a high school kid wearing his crimson and gold school sweater. He had his life in front of him. His name was Guido (Guy) Farinaro. Virtually everyone at his Catholic high school went on to college. Guy did not. His family immigrated from Italy, and he wanted to give back to the country which took them in.
He joined the Marines. After surviving the Tet offensive in Hue, his platoon was now down to fourteen men and on their 3rd platoon leader in two weeks. In a nameless rice paddy, a sniper killed Guy. The new platoon leader was about to call in artillery on the hamlet where the shot came from.. A young sergeant eyed the officer with a look that said, “Think about it.” He did not call in the strike. He said that was a life changing moment for him.
Years later on his last day of active duty, he went to the Wall. He stuck an index card next to Guy’s name. On it were four stars and he wrote, “These are your stars, not mine, with love your platoon leader.”That officer was General Peter Pace, the head of the Joint Chiefs under Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld. General Pace has visited Chaminade High School a number of times since. He has said he keeps coming back because he wants to understand where people like Guido come from. And each time he impresses on the students there that it was Guy’s death which forged his Moral Compass. When you are in tough times you need your Moral Compass.
“What does it mean to be a patriotic veteran?”
It is the same for all of us. On Memorial Day, I will think of my classmate, Guy, and my grandkids. He did not want to be a hero. He just wanted to thank our country.
I will think of what Lincoln said, “It is for us, the living, to be here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us…that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom, and this government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
I will think of Peter Pace and his Moral Compass. And I will strive along and beside my fellow Americans to live up to Guy’s sacrifice.
by a Thankful Patriot
Integrity
I was 11 years old in 1954 and lived with my grandfather, a retired carpenter 70 years old. Hie Social Security was probably about $25 per month. He had a milk cow for sale. A man he knew asked about the cow. My grandfather told him the cow was sold but not yet delivered. The man offered my grandfather $25 more than he had received for the cow. My grandfather said to him, “I told you I have sold the cow.” 72 years later I still remember that day.
“My grandfather was true to his word. Our country needs more people like him.”
by a Principled Patriot
What Keeps Me Up at Night
It’s not the price of gas or groceries that rattle me these days. It’s the vitriol, the hate.
Throughout our nation’s history, we’ve seen what hate looks like. It divides people across gender, religion, and race, and it stokes anger. Instead of spending time on solutions to everyday problems, people seek revenge on whoever or whatever is deemed hateful, and that does not solve anything. The result? Misplaced blame, chaos, and violence.
“Stoking hate is political strategy, and we need to stop feeding the fire.”
The one thru-line I’ve seen played over and over again is how the ultra-rich and powerful keep everyone else angry at each other while they enjoy their mansions, yachts, and galas. Christians are angry at whoever is waging the War on Christmas, whites are angry at black people for benefiting from affirmative action, and middle-class people are angry at “lazy poor people” who get food stamps on their tax dollar. People hate immigrants and Jews for no reason at all or purely manufactured reasons.
Keeping the general population angry and distracted while the rich get richer, using their money to rule the world, is intentional. Stoking hate is a political strategy, and the sooner we all realize it, stop playing the game, and band together, the better off we will be.
Sleep Deprived Patriot
The Day After Mother’s Day
On Mother’s Day, we lavish our mothers (and daughters and grandmothers) with sweets, fragrances, fancy cards, and dining out. Yesterday I enjoyed gardening in the sunny (and still mosquito free) weather, chatting with my children, scrolling through texts from friends and family. Nothing was commercialized, and I was feeling immensely grateful for the bounty of love coming my way.
And then today…
I read this article in The Guardian about all the mothers nationwide who are uniting to love and defend other people’s children. They weren’t just romanticizing about that delicious newborn smell or taking prom pics or planning summer vacations. They were spontaneously uniting in Minneapolis to deliver food to families who were afraid to leave their homes, to take children they had never met before to and from school, to alert their neighbors to imminent raids, and to even use their bodies to protect strangers who were being targeted.
“I see every child like I see my children and I think about their mothers having to see them suffer,” Accurso said. “It breaks me.”
This is just a tiny snapshot of what mothers across America are doing to honor and strengthen families nationwide. They are encouraging mothers to run for office and advocate for family-focused policies such as paid leave, childcare support, and maternal health care reforms. They are so much more than caregivers for their own families. They are influential political organizers working tirelessly to reshape public policy.
Read more about these mothers here.
by a Caring Patriot