War lessons

My eyes were tearing up and it became harder to sing as the lump in my throat seemed to get larger. On this Fourth of July, the congregation was singing those beautiful words, "America, America, God shed His grace on thee."

One doesn't have to listen to the news of the world very long before you truly understand how lucky we are to be Americans, and yet there are forces within this country that continue to want to tear it down and convince us that we aren't that good.

In 400 years, we've evolved to a nation that has always come to the aid of other countries being oppressed. We've crossed oceans and continents to save millions of people, shedding the blood of our men and women. We defend ourselves when attacked, and yet we're often maligned.

Set aside the labels of political parties and look at the words and actions of our leaders and their confidants. I wonder how our maimed men and women, or families who have had members killed in Iraq or Afghanistan, feel about the War on Terror they fight every day being called an "overseas contingency operation."

I wonder how they feel about not being allowed to shoot at the enemy until they're shot at first. I wonder how they feel about getting a medal for "courageous restraint."

War is ugly and awful. But if we decide to go, we'd better decide to win decisively, quickly and come home as fast as we can.

God bless America.

Dan Graves

Whitefish