Memorial Day's Freedoms: Never Forget

Happy Memorial Day Weekend, everybody. Whatya got going? Ballgame? Picnic? Cookout? Golf? Beach?

Great country, isn’t it?

And it’s a great weekend to celebrate our freedoms by doing the things that help fulfill the Declaration of Independence’s promise of “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Of course, freedom is never “free.” And I think on these holidays about the many families who are without their loved ones currently serving in a far away land, filled with donkeys and fanatics. Lands that are so far from being as free, tolerant, prosperous, or beautiful as ours.

On a whim, I wondered how the recent recruiting numbers for the military are these days. I see stories about how difficult it has become, and it doesn’t surprise me.

But this link on the Army’s web site was a pleasant surprise.

Now, I’m sure I will get some back story on this from actual Army recruiters. I expect to be told that there are more generous recruitment incentives than ever. I expect that the Army has lowered its recruiting “targets” to enable them to claim they have met or exceeded their goals.

And of course, I expect to hear from leftist anti-America, anti-military types, who will claim that it is only because the poor, uneducated, and not well connected have nowhere to turn for a living.

Whatever.

All I know is this: at a time of war, where we are in a nasty fight in Iraq and Afghanistan, and will be there for some time, with perhaps more conflicts in the future – there are STILL hundreds of thousands of young men and women who voluntarily step forward to serve this country, and risk making the greatest sacrifice humanly possible.

Wow.

Thank God for these young people. You wonder sometimes, where do they come from, and how blessed are we as a nation to have them?

Honestly, with the way the current wars are being “narrated” by the drive-by media, and with the pure vile heaped on Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld-Petreaus et. al for their perceived “incompetence”, you would think our Army recruiting totals for 2006 would have been 12.

Not 80,635.

Most media stories on TV this week will about the trivial and indulgent. How jammed are highways? How expensive is a gallon of gas? Grilling tips. Airport delays. Summer fashion. Beach reports. Blockbuster movies.

And then, as a newscast is winding down, they’ll throw a bone to the military angle. Which, I suppose is better than nothing.

Still, when I’m doing all the great things that freedom provides this weekend, I’ll try to keep in mind the brave men and women who helped us remain so vibrant and free.

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AND NOW, YOUR PIC O' THE DAY!!

Watch them Gators this weekend, kids!