Roger
I’ve been thinking about this whole “America Was Never Great” idea that seems to be in fashion with a lot of liberals and young people. The other day I was driving through the countryside of the Czech Republic. I have a job and have had jobs in the past that have allowed me to see a large part of the world. As I was driving, I saw out of the corner of my eye what looked like a monument and a plane propeller.
I turned around and went back. Here, in a country half way around the world I found a well kept monument to the sacrifice of brave young American men in WW2. The paint on the propeller was fresh and bright. The flowers were tended, There was a granite slab explaining that a B-24 bomber had been shot down and 4 members of the crew had been killed. And at the bottom was this line.
“Don't Forget That They Fought For Your Freedom”
Why have so many Americans forgotten the many sacrifices that our young men have made around the world for so many people they never met? I’ve seen similar monuments in other countries. The cemeteries at Normandy where thousands of our young men died to free a continent. I’ve seen America Road in Kanchanuburi Thailand, named, along with other allies in honor of American sacrifices in WW2 I’ve seen the monument in St.Marie Igles, France honoring the paratrooper who landed on the church spire. I’ve seen monuments in South Korea, thanking our country for their freedom, while just a stones throw north, their fellow countrymen suffer famine, poverty and despair at the hands of a dictator.
On the other side of that coin, I’ve seen the POW camps in Singapore and Malaysia where Allied and American men were tortured and were worked to death by a ruthless enemy. I’ve walked the railway at Auschwitz, where hundreds of thousand of innocents died under the hand of an evil nation. American soldiers, sailors and airmen fought and died to stop these atrocities around the world.
During WW2, America came as liberators, even to the nations she defeated. America rebuilt and restored freedom to the Axis powers. Germany and Japan rose out of the ashes of failed totalitarianism to be shining democracies and economic powerhouses. What other nation has ever done this for it’s conquered enemies?
American soldiers died by the hundreds of thousands to rid the country of slavery. This seems to be forgotten now. The ground ran red with blood at Gettysburg, Bull Run and dozens of other battlefields around the country.
I think when people say America was never great, the are confusing greatness with perfection. Greatness doesn’t demand perfection in any context. Sports teams are “great” even when they don’t win every game. People are “great” even when they are deeply flawed. Reagan, Kennedy, King, Chuchill, great men all, and all far from perfect.
America was great, is great and will continue to be great, despite her flaws. So when you say,
‘America was never great.” I think you need to examine your definition of great.
Roger Sandmann ... See more
