Published: September 12, 2008 12:18 pm            

Don't stop talking about freedom

The 70s band Bread has a little remembered song called “ Mother Freedom”.

In honor of 9-11, I listened to it on my way to work today and it lays out so clearly what has motivated me to serve all these years. It reminded me of so much that we accomplished as we wound our way through the cities and villages of Iraq with so many Iraqis, rebuilding and teaching them about how to govern themselves.

The liberal media will have you think we ran around kicking in doors, raping families and mistreating our captives. Did that happen? Of course, it’s a war zone. Just like any large society, the military has a small percentage of criminals - our own U.S. cities and towns have a higher percentage of the problem by far.

Indeed and despite the media’s reluctance to cover it at all, we built businesses, set up clinics, established the first free media they have had, opened schools, repopulated neighborhoods and fed thousands who had been starved by Saddam. I was there, I didn’t just look this up off of an Army press release, I was part of it.

On a personal level, I dragged an Iraqi who worked with me, out of a suicide bombing that we almost walked into, loaded another who worked with me into my vehicle and rushed him to the combat hospital when he dropped of a heart attack. When he could not work for a while and could not support his family, I supported them. It was my pleasure. I was honored to do it and I was among hundreds of us there who did these things. Interesting that the liberal media has followed NONE of those stories.

The liberal media hates America and they hate Soldiers.

Today, they covered the many New York City memorial services to those brave men and women who died that day that our lives changed forever.

They said all the politically correct things - things that sound like they get it...but they don’t. How could they?

And if you are gullible and you tend to enjoy watching good looking 30-year-olds who are barely out of their journalistic diapers, you can actually begin to believe they mean it.

I mean, even I am swayed when someone who is distracting me with their swarthy, good looks is lying to my face.

For a second you forget that these are the treasonous, America haters who divulge classified information that get our Soldiers killed, who wander around in fake head scarves in Iran and invite hatred and threats of our way of life on film and who give voice to those who would like nothing more than the total annihilation of freedom and oh-by-the-way...you.

Yeah. They look pretty good on camera don’t they but they will get you killed because they will convince you that the enemy is your own military, whose sacrifice to redirect the fight back outside this country is exquisite.

They will get you killed because they will convince you that none of us should ever have to give up even the slightest freedom, even temporarily, to shore up the security of our own country. They will get you killed because instead of doing real, “shoe leather” reporting on Obama’s relationship with the likes of Chicago fixer Tony Rezko, William Ayers and one man with multiple ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, Mazen Asbahi, they want to know if Sarah Palin really delivered her baby Trig and would she be willing to submit to a DNA test to prove it.

They will get you killed because they will convince you that the deals Britney Spears makes with her drug dealer are more important -more newsworthy- than the deals that Barack Obama is making with the leadership of the United Arab Emirates.

I love the sacrifice of those who died on 9-11. I hate that they died - had to die - but I love their sacrifice because those families seem to get it more than those who have sacrificed NOTHING for the freedoms they still enjoy.

As a soldier, I was openly willing to do the same and still would take an AK47 round to the chest without compunction because I know first-hand how it is to live in a dictatorship. I will haunt the person who propitiates the idea that my death would be a waste. But for someone who does not see what efforts I made that changed lives in Iraq -someone who only listens to Katie Couric and wants to use my death as another opportunity to spread hate for the American way of life-it would be easy.

I mean, if you aren’t bothered by things like the truth, you can say anything.

If the only sacrifice other Americans make at this time is to stand up and require a little more honesty from its government and media - to not hang on every word that comes out of Wolf Blitzer’s mouth, well that is a sacrifice that could change our nation.

Here are the words to the Bread song. Hope you get the music and enjoy it. It strikes me that at that time, even the rock bands seemed to be more circumspect than we are now.



Freedom - keep walkin'.

Keep on your toes and don't stop talkin' bout

Freedom - get goin'.

Lots to be learned and lots to be knowin' bout

People - gotta' reach 'em.

Sit 'em right down and then you gotta teach 'em bout

Freedom - gotta' win it.

Gotta put yourself smack dab in it.



Hey, tomorrow

Now don't you go away.

'Cause freedom

Just might come your way.



Freedom - keep tryin'.

People stay alive and people keep dyin' for

Freedom - so don't lose it.

Gotta' understand you just can't abuse it.

Freedom - get movin'.

Never gonna stop till everybody's groovin' on

Love for one another.

Callin' some friend and callin' some brother.



Hey, tomorrow

You're not so far away.

Mother Freedom

We'll know you well someday.

Rachael Van Horn is assistant editor of the Woodward News

        

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