Today I mourn

Today, I mourn.  I grieve.  I ache for those lives senselessly taken.
 
My sadness goes further than Orlando.; deeper than the LGBT community.
I cry for America.
 
Today’s horrific tragedy is not a political issue.  It is not a 2nd Amendment issue.  It is not a lifestyle issue.  This is an American issue; it is a human issue.
 
This could have happened at a mall, or a preschool, or a church, or an office, or a public pool, or any gathering of peaceful people living under the umbrella of freedom that we all treasure.
 
Yet we allow hateful speech to become part of our everyday news.  We allow shootings to be so commonplace that it’s not until a ‘mass shooting’ takes place that we take notice.  We allow violence to prevail; racism to be tolerated; rapes to be justified; inaction to be considered progress; and individuals to be grouped together and marginalized as lesser in our society.
 
Today, I mourn.  For those who lost a friend or loved one in Orlando, words will never adequately express my sympathies.  Despite the anger we feel, we must resolve to work together to better our society, to further our common goals and interests.   We must remember that all lives are created equal,  and that we are endowed with certain unalienable Rights; that among them are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
 
Today, we must continue to look forward, and pledge not revenge, not divisiveness, but collaboration.  Despite our differences, we remain strongest when we are united.  Whether this evil is foreign or domestic, there is no room in our world for intolerance or inaction.  Every life holds value, and our Rights must never be abridged. Today we must stand together again as the United States of America.
We Stand With Orlando

We Will Never Forget

Let us never forget to honor the lives that have been lost with our commitment to the ideals that founded this Nation.

We will never forget.
Four simple words that evoke strong emotions on this day.
We will never forget the shock and horror of seeing planes crash into our buildings, and hearing of the one that crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.
We will never forget the lives that were lost; those on the planes, in the buildings, and those first responders who risked all to save others.
We will never forget the fear that engulfed us; the worry and wonder of what is next.
We will never forget … but we have.
We’ve forgotten what it is like to be American.
We’ve forgotten compassion and concern for our fellow citizens.
We’ve forgotten that our actions, or inaction, have global consequences.
We’ve forgotten that lives matter, all of them, and that community is important to those lives.
America held its collective breath 14 years ago and watched the world change before our eyes.
We came together as one. One nation, indivisible.  The patriotism was strong, as was our humanity.
Today, we are the most divided since the Civil War.  How did we forget what we swore not to?
How did we forget that the people of this great nation are what makes America strong, and that government derives its just power from the governed?
How did we forget that while we are individual states, we are United States?
On that day, did anyone care if the people running from the buildings were black or white?  Republican or Democrat?  Gay or straight?  We held each other close, and clung to the beliefs that we were attacked for who we are; for our freedoms, for our democracy.  Yet those are the very things we’ve sacrificed and forgotten since then.  We debate our inalienable rights.  We distrust and disrespect each other.  We gave up freedoms for greed.
Are we safer today than on that bright September morning 14 years ago?
Have we focused our attentions on the underlying causes and in strategically protecting this Nation?
It saddens me deeply to see us turn our backs on our fellow citizens.  It is frightening to think that our first responders, once so vaunted, are now disrespected and hunted.  Sadly, many are not the heroes we placed on pedestals.  It is disturbing beyond words the lack of respect that pervades the land, and is so ingrained in Washington.  It is a sad reflection of who we are becoming to see us turn our backs on each other, especially those in need, whether here in the United States or across the globe.
While we can take solace that Bin Laden is dead and al-Qaeda all but dismantled, new, stronger threats have emerged. Ones doing greater damage than we ever imagined or expected.  Persecution, anti-Semitism, genocide and destruction are on the rise across the globe, and we forget.  We forget that our shores are not unreachable by those who wish to do us harm.  While we debate each other, they grow stronger.   While Washington is locked in ideological gridlock, the world marches on.
Today, I ask you to remember.
I ask you to remember those we lost, and remember all those who gave selflessly to help others.
I ask you to remember not just where you were, but to remember your thoughts.
I ask you to remember not just what you felt, but remember why you felt it.
I ask you to remember the fear when the buildings fell, and remember the pride of seeing the American flag raised over the rubble.
I ask you to remember your concern; for yourself, your family, your friends, your neighbors.
I ask you to remember that we all have equal rights, individually, and remember that we have a responsibility to ourselves and each other.
I ask you to remember what makes us great, to think about how we can be even better, and to remember that at the polls next year.
I ask you to truly never forget.
Today is a National Day of Service and Remembrance.
I mourn the victims of those terrible attacks, and I mourn the America I love.
Let us never forget to honor the lives that have been lost with our commitment to the ideals that founded this Nation.

July 4, 2015

“The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,”
Much more than just words on a page. They are ideas, ideals and rights.
It is not just about the birth of this great Nation, it is about how we accomplished it.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
So starts one of the most important documents in our history.
Much more than just words on a page.   They are ideas, ideals and rights.
It is not just about the birth of this great Nation, it is about how we accomplished it.
We didn’t just become free, we desired freedom.  We didn’t just fight to be free, we declared our intentions.  We aired our grievances, and laid the foundations for our Constitution, Bill of Rights, and way of life.
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”
Each person signing this document was committing an act of Treason against Great Britain, an action punishable by death.   With this Declaration, and the actions that followed, the thirteen colonies would forever be free.
While each colony may have been different, we stood as ‘one people’.
Our differences make us unique, but our beliefs unite us.
We are united in our commitment that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
A new Nation was formed with a new government:  “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
‘Just powers from the consent of the governed.’  Perhaps some of the most important and sometimes overlooked words in the Declaration. Our government only has certain powers.  Those powers are granted by the people.  We cannot forget that the government doesn’t give us rights, they are ours.
Liberty and Freedom are still important tenets of our lives.  Every day, brave men and women put on uniforms and risk their life defending our beliefs.   They don’t fight for our government, they fight for our People.  Every day, I’m thankful for all who work tirelessly to protect and defend our freedoms.
We remain a diverse people; it is one of the things that makes these United States great.  We will always have our differences, but we must always bring with them respect.  Respect for other opinions, other cultures, and other ideas.   Our rights come responsibilities, to ourselves and to each other.
As we celebrate today, remember the reason, remember the risk, and remember the sacrifice.
Above all else, remember our rights and that the protection of those rights is the responsibility of the government.  We must continue to ensure that the People, and our Rights, come first.
After 239 years, we’re still learning, but with continued trust and respect, this government of the People, by the People and for the People, shall not perish from this Earth.
Happy Birthday, America.