Saturday, March 15, 2008

Founders Day

So I went last night to USMA's Founders Day celebration here in town. It was good - the youngest grad ('07) and the oldest grad ('51) each gave speeches with the guest speaker, current Commandant, giving a "State of the Corps". After last night I was thinking about the cadets there now, and those recently graduated. Knowing full well they are entering the Academy during a war, an unpopular one at that, I felt both pride and humility. I felt sadness at the loss of my classmates in Iraq and Afghanistan. I even felt guilty for separating - though I know I shouldn't.

I don't really have anything profound to say or share except listening last night restored my faith in people and in America and in the values of our country. Its been a shock returning to somewhat normalcy and having to deal (and not deal all that well) with American consumerism and "fat and happy" regular folk and everything else. I've not reconciled reality with my expectations of others. Less than one half of one percent of Americans are serving and that truly makes me sad. And what makes me angry is that the rest of the country could really give a crap. How hard is it really to give a crap? Send a Soldier a box of cookies! A letter! Gum! Books! Something! Even expired celebrity gossip magazines! If you want names and address of guys over there, let me know, and I'll gladly pass that along.

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