John R. “Buck” Surdu
Ronald Reagan is credited with having said, “Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world. A veteran doesn’t have that problem.” This is the kind of quote that “fact checkers” on Internet like to debunk. Whether Regan said it or not, in the past, I have found this quote inciteful and accurate.
We live in a society driven by an addiction to social media. Self-center and self-absorbed people whose life has no meaning or purpose try to achieve their 15 minutes of fame by post pictures of their dinner. Betty White is credited with having said that she didn’t understand the Internet because being forced to look at other people’s vacation pictures used to be considered punishment, and it is considered social media.
Those on the Left create nothing. They only destroy. They seek to destroy our lives, our fun, our culture, our anthem, our flag, our Constitution, our rights, and our military. They even seek to destroy our holidays. (See this article from the Washington Post about the evils of Thanksgiving.) Leftist’s lives are so devoid of meaning and purpose that their only joy is to take away things that give others joy. If a conservative doesn’t like a television show, he’ll change the channel. If a Leftist doesn’t like a television show, he doesn’t want you to be able to watch it either. If a conservative doesn’t like guns, he won’t buy one. If a Leftist doesn’t like guns, he wants to take away your right to own one. If a Leftist doesn’t like the outcome of an election or court decision, he will declare the whole system illegitimate. If a conservative does the same, he is an insurrectionist.
I spent 28 years on active duty in the Army and 4 years at West Point as an officer cadet. My dad was an Army veteran of Vietnam. His brother was a Marine veteran of Vietnam. My great-uncle was a veteran of Iwo Jim. Veteran’s day has a special meaning for me. My son is currently serving in the Army. Most Americans (including the Quislings in Congress) have little if any connection with the military. For many, Veteran’s Day is just a day off work.
I once agreed with Regan’s quote. As I watch the Left openly seek to destroy our nation, I am no longer sure Reagan was correct. As I watch a brainwashed electorate act as if elections are an episode of American Idol and elect objectively unqualified goons to important public office, I am no longer sure. As I watch the electorate blatantly vote against their own self-interests, I am not sure. As I watch the Leftist, globalization-supporting, America-hating, woke media censor and hide facts that don’t comply with the approved narrative, I am no longer sure. As I watch the Secretary of Defense, General Miley, and a raft of other woke sycophants cosplaying as general officers destroy the culture and readiness of what was once unquestionably the most powerful army in the world, I am no longer sure. I have often quipped that I wore the uniform of an Army that no longer exists in the service of a nation that no longer exists.
In the United States, unlike in many other countries, our oath of office is to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. While we respect the office of Commander in Chief, our allegiance is to the ideals enshrined in the Constitution. While we obey the lawful orders of those appointed over us, our duty is to the Constitution, not the Federal bureaucracy.
You do no honor to veterans with kind platitudes a couple of days a year out of one side of your mouth while out of the other side of your mouth you malign, vilify, destroy, disrespect, and call illegitimate the Constitution, the flag, our nation, our anthem, and our institutions for which those veterans served. You do no honor to veterans by continuing to support an administration and woke senior military leadership that actively and openly seeks to emasculate our military to promote prevarications of white rage and systemic racism in order to gain and maintain power over the proletariate.
I agree! My (global-ish) company celebrates Veterans Day … and until last yeas, celebrated/honored (virtual tributes on the company website) veterans OF ALL NATIONS, including our enemies in China and Russia- until a small but vocal group of us reeled our Woke C-level staff and administrators in by publicly blasting them on the company website. They still don’t get it but they changed because their virtue signal message was not well received.
Never-the-less, the malaise I felt on November 11th was largely because they do not honor Veterans as much as they USE veterans… to signal their virtue in a feint of support for that which they either don’t understand or don’t really support. The company’s free steak dinner didn’t taste very good this year.
Your conclusion is quotable!
“ You do no honor to veterans with kind platitudes a couple of days a year out of one side of your mouth while out of the other side of your mouth you malign, vilify, destroy, disrespect, and call illegitimate the Constitution, the flag, our nation, our anthem, and our institutions for which those veterans served. You do no honor to veterans by continuing to support an administration and woke senior military leadership that actively and openly seeks to emasculate our military to promote prevarications of white rage and systemic racism in order to gain and maintain power over the proletariate.”
I still have many questions about my purpose on this planet Earth. I still ask God about it. I share your views about everything that is going on around us, every day. It is very disturbing.
But you must always remember that you serve a purpose every day you live. It might not be what you expect, and it might not have been your service in the military, but it is still service, to the Lord.
I think you are well blessed in that regard, which is the only one that counts. The rest is just wheat to be separated from the chaff.