Day 8 of Harvest

 

Easter

this is what time it seems.

I'll start here, 

Every time I stand for the National anthem, I sing it out loud. I almost always tear up, "...bombs bursting in air..." 

His helicopter was hit on 9 June, he died 2 July, 2010. Why were we in Afghanistan?

Have you ever read 'War is a Racket', by Smedley Butler? You should, he explains how 'War is a Racket', he was the system and understood the system. He was no normal man, he was extraordinary; he was a Marine. It will truly do your knowledge base good to read 'War is a Racket', that's why I am saying it 3 times to whomever is ingesting this. 

It doesn't bother me to acknowledge that our country has been systematically run to the ground for a very long time, 1963? 1933? 1910? That the citizens of the United States of America were declared the enemy in 2020, there is zero hyperbole here. I love my country, I'm not fond of the people that got us to this place; bankers, politicians and run of the mill State administrators, and such...

There was a moment yesterday when not an algorithm motivated empty thought came to me...as a reminder of the past; my moment was a time where life and death met in the middle, death always wins in the end. The tears gathered with grace, love, and gratitude. He was there for the right reasons. We were there for the wrong ones. 

...

Me...

"I'll tell you a story this seventh of November. 

They were real people that died to fill their pockets with baubles. I knew a guy long ago, his name was Dave Wisnewski and he was an American hero. When you find out he died for all the wrong reasons come see me. 

We broke bread together, we celebrated Easter and holidays together, he was your brother. 

I'm your uncomfortable reminder."

Her response...(My part is high lighted)

"I don't usually comment on political posts - people have their reasons for their beliefs, and those reasons are valid. But I have to take offense at you bringing up Dave's death and insinuating that it was for nothing. Believe what you want , but please don't project those beliefs on heroes who paid the ultimate sacrifice. You don't know what motivated Wiz (If he told me the truth, he was inspired by 9/11 to apply to USAFA), why he chose to serve, what beliefs he held dear (Wiz was Catholic, also Polish, a heritage from which I also share a history, besides helicopters and war we conversed on a multitude of subject matters as I got to know him). Holding him as an example in your rants is an insult to his memory." 

Reply from an American hero himself, who once went on a Rescue mission in my birth land, not to mention the rest...

 "What I have learned in my short time on this planet, we all grieve in a different way. Sometimes, we do things that others perceive as dishonoring another's memory. I ask you to give Kristin grace and realize losing others hurts. My own journey in losing many close heroes has had me reject my faith. Pretty irrational, we are all flawed creatures. We need to support one another. After work today, I plan on raising a scotch to Wiz and all the greatest Rescue dudes and dudettes that gave their best and are no longer with us. I will celebrate that." 

Her...

I agree with you. Everyone does grieve differently. My intent was certainly not to dismiss Kristin's grief. I just personally don't like it when politicians and others use someone's death to advance their position, (the position I'm advancing is to recall a real hero) and that's what this post felt like to me. Maybe I'm more sensitive because we just went through such a divisive election process, and I saw too many political ads that did this. Those ads probably don't bother others, but they strike a nerve with me. And that's how I read this post. Like I said, we all have personal experiences that shape our opinions, and those are valid.

I too will raise a glass to those in our Rescue family who paid the ultimate sacrifice."

...

He was a normal every day Good guy, who became an American Hero for the right reasons. 

I don't want what happened to Wiz happen to other peoples children or my own. The United States is an ideology and we must get back to basics. The lives that were lost to fill those pockets with baubles, they are real American heroes; great role models, like Wiz, real people, not actors and larpers. 

The election to me wasn't divisive, it showed absolute morally bankruptcy by masses and congregations none of which should be models for the future. Wiz, was a Good guy, that's why his brothers bring their children to his site and we keep his memory alive so his death never in vain. 

'War is a Racket', by Smedley Butler 

It doesn't matter if you like what I say.

It matters that I say it. 

"These things we do"

"That others may live."