Email Delivery: Get the latest post delivered to you.
Mother Teresa once challenged for putting so much effort into an apparent losing cause working with the endless sick and poor responded with, “God does not require that I succeed, only that I do what I can.”
Think if in 2013 we all took that as a personal creed. We could change the world!
I guess you could say I have always been patriotic. I was brought up that way. My dad is a retired infantry officer. One important thing I’ve learned from him is that our freedom is not something we should take for granted. I’ve come to respect and honor those who have fought and those who have given their lives so we can enjoy the blessings and opportunities we have.
My mom is also as patriotic as they come. For example, when we’re watching a football game on TV and they play the national anthem, she makes everyone in the room stand up and put their hands over their hearts. Between the two of them, I’ve inherited a feeling of gratitude for the freedoms of my country.
That is why on July 24, 2001, I joined the U.S. Marine Corps reserves. Because I was still in high school, I was in the delayed-entry program and didn’t actually go to boot camp until June 2002, after I had graduated.
Quite often my mom and I sat up late at night talking about anything and everything. Right before I left for boot camp, we were having one of those late-night talks. We discussed how important it was that I keep my standards high and not give in to some of the temptations I might face. She asked me right then if I would promise her that I would not pick up swearing while at boot camp. I made her that promise, even though I knew it might be hard to keep because of the environment I would be in.
On June 12, I arrived at the San Diego, California, Marine Corps recruit depot. Right from the start, any identity we had was taken away. We all wore the same uniforms, wore the same brown horn-rimmed glasses, and had the same haircut, which was no hair! We were not allowed to refer to ourselves as “I” or “me.” We were to say “this recruit” when speaking about ourselves.
We got about five hours of sleep a night. We were on the go 19 hours a day. Part of the time we were in classes. Other times we were running or learning to march, and the rest of the time we were in the field learning things like martial arts, takedowns, and bayonet training. I had three drill instructors and one senior drill instructor, who was as big as a horse. His neck and biceps were the size of tree trunks.
One day my platoon of 83 recruits was in the field doing a drill. One recruit, who was the “enemy,” tried to take our rifles away. We had to fight to prevent him from getting it. Once we had control of our rifle, we were told to point it at the enemy and yell, “Get down, _____!” calling him a profane name.
As I stood there in line waiting for my turn and watching one recruit after another do the drill, I thought about the promise I had made to my mom. It would be easy to give in just this once and talk like a “real” marine. But I knew it would be wrong. I had made a promise, and now I was being put to the test. It was finally my turn. I fought the enemy, got control of my rifle, pointed it at him, and yelled, “Get down!”
My drill instructors stopped the drill and yelled at me to do it again the right way and say what they told me to say. I did the drill again, pointed the rifle at the other recruit, and yelled, “Get down!” Suddenly I had two drill instructors in my face, yelling and screaming at me. My senior drill instructor came over and stood half an inch from my face and yelled at me to obey the order I was given and do the drill the way I was ordered to do it.
It was now crunch time. Do I give in or stand up for what I know is right and keep the promise? I stood at attention and said, “This recruit does not swear, sir!” Everyone went silent.
There was not a sound as all eyes went back and forth between me and my four drill instructors. I didn’t know what would happen to me next. I wondered if I’d be harassed by all the recruits or commanded to do 5,000 push-ups. Finally my senior drill instructor burst out laughing. Everyone else started laughing as well. The drill instructors began joking with me and coming up with other words that I could say instead. I didn’t get in any trouble for keeping my promise. When it was all over, I felt relieved and thankful that I had done the right thing.
In 2003 I received orders from a higher-ranking commander in chief. I received a mission call to serve the Lord full time in South Africa. My experiences with the Marine Corps have taught me how important it is to keep my standards. No matter how hard some things might seem at the time, if you try to do what’s right, you’ll have the Lord on your side. And with Him on your side, nothing is impossible
I already have an idea as to how Mr. Obama and Joe Biden talk and the language they use. That has been sadly documented many times. When our founding fathers of the United States referred to the name of God it was expected to be in moments of gratitude and acknowledgement of His divine hand, not anger. My how our expectations have changed…or lowered. I don’t imagine George Washington, Abraham Lincoln dropping the F-bomb. I also doubt I will ever hear Mitt Romney using that kind of language. What kind of leader do I want to follow…I think I know.
CmSquared
A Speech Every American High School Principal Should Give.
By Dennis Prager.
To the students and faculty of our high school:
I am your new principal, and honored to be so. There is no greater calling than to teach young people.
I would like to apprise you of some important changes coming to our school. I am making these changes because I am convinced that most of the ideas that have dominated public education in America have worked against you, against your teachers and against our country.
First, this school will no longer honor race or ethnicity. I could not care less if your racial makeup is black, brown, red, yellow or white. I could not care less if your origins are African, Latin American, Asian or European, or if your ancestors arrived here on the Mayflower or on slave ships. The only identity I care about, the only one this school will recognize, is your individual identity — your character, your scholarship, your humanity. And the only national identity this school will care about is American.
- This is an American public school, and American public schools were created to make better Americans. If you wish to affirm an ethnic, racial or religious identity through school, you will have to go elsewhere. We will end all ethnicity, race and non-American nationality-based celebrations. They undermine the motto of America , one of its three central values — e pluribus Unum, “from many, one.” And this school will be guided by America ‘s values. This includes all after-school clubs. I will not authorize clubs that divide students based on any identities. This includes race, language, religion, sexual orientation or whatever else may become in vogue in a society divided by political correctness.
- Your clubs will be based on interests and passions, not blood, ethnic, racial or other physically defined ties. Those clubs just cultivate narcissism — an unhealthy preoccupation with the self — while the purpose of education is to get you to think beyond yourself. So we will have clubs that transport you to the wonders and glories of art, music, astronomy, languages you do not already speak, carpentry and more. If the only extracurricular activities you can imagine being interested in are those based on ethnic, racial or sexual identity, that means that little outside of yourself really interests you.
Fourth, no obscene language will be tolerated anywhere on this school’s property — whether in class, in the hallways or at athletic events. If you can’t speak without using the f-word, you can’t speak. By obscene language I mean the words banned by the Federal Communications Commission, plus epithets such as “Nigger,” even when used by one black student to address another black, or “bitch,” even when addressed by a girl to a girlfriend. It is my intent that by the time you leave this school, you will be among the few your age to instinctively distinguish between the elevated and the degraded, the holy and the obscene.
Fifth, we will end all self-esteem programs. In this school, self-esteem will be attained in only one way — the way people attained it until decided otherwise a generation ago — by earning it. One immediate consequence is that there will be one valedictorian, not eight.
Sixth, and last, I am reorienting the school toward academics and away from politics and propaganda. No more time will be devoted to scaring you about smoking and caffeine, or terrifying you about sexual harassment or global warming. No more semesters will be devoted to condom wearing and teaching you to regard sexual relations as only or primarily a health issue… There will be no more attempts to convince you that you are a victim because you are not white, or not male, or not heterosexual or not Christian. We will have failed if any one of you graduates this school and does not consider him or herself inordinately fortunate — to be alive and to be an American.
Now, please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of our country. As many of you do not know the words, your teachers will hand them out to you.
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Summary: The once great gods are now damned for all eternity. In days of old, people at random from all over the land were selected by The Shaod to join the ranks of the gods to live with them in the city of the gods; now they are sent to live in the city with the damned.
Review: Begin a book with a bang! or a curse! Sanderson has an intense ability to create nail-biting action and attachment to the characters. If you are like me, always worried about picking up a book that might have racy scenes or just plain and flat-out porn inside, look no further, Brandon Sanderson has the perfect recipe for a clean fantasy book you will not be able to put down!
When I think about inspiration in my life, there are a few individuals that stand out in my mind. As a child, it was the faces of baseball players that hung on the posters in my bedroom. As a young professional athlete, it was the veteran players or All-Stars that I used as motivation to help me get to the next level. As a husband and father, I look to my wonderful wife who has patiently stayed with me, keeping me on track with my career and the more important things of life.
My greatest inspiration though, at times almost larger than life itself, is my mom. Always there for me, constant as the North Star, patient, loving and tough. When I face the challenges of life I just think of mom. As if raising me was not difficult enough she has battled for 35 years the progressive ravages of Multiple Sclerosis. Her daily grind and struggles go far beyond any of my individual challenges. She has taught me perseverance, patience, hard work, dedication, focus, and how to pick yourself up after being knocked down. These characteristics have helped me handle adversity in my life and have prepared me for what lies ahead. Thank you Mom for challenging me, teaching me, and inspiring me to be better.
– Drafted by the Cleveland Indians 2nd round 1998, played 9 years professional baseball