American Values |
"We are either a united people, or we are not. If the former, let us, in all matters of general concern act as a Nation, which have national objects to promote, and a national character to support. If we are not, let us no longer act as a farce by pretending to it." — George Washington, 30 November 1785, Letter to James Madison
Last week, I had the distinct pleasure of visiting the "Home of Heroes," Pueblo, Colorado. The city earned that title by having a record number, four, Medal of Honor recipients: William J. Crawford (Army, WW II), Carl L. Sitter (Marines, Korea), Raymond G. "Jerry" Murphy (Marines, Korea), and Drew D. Dix (Army, Vietnam). MOH recipient Major Drew Dix (USA, Ret) is a dear friend and invited me to speak at the Center for American Values in his hometown of Pueblo. It is a phenomenal facility that is the only location outside of the Pentagon where one can find a breathtaking portrait gallery of American Medal of Honor recipients. The three core values of the Center for American Values, which they promote to our future generations, are Honor, Integrity, and Patriotism.
As I think of Drew Dix's center, I harkened back to the words of George Washington that he wrote to James Madison. We are in our 250th year of American independence, and the pertinent question has to be, what are American values?
I would ask each of you reading this missive to think back to our 200th celebration of independence, the Bicentennial of 1976. I was just a young fella of 15 years of age. It was the year that my Dad would challenge me to be the first military officer in our family. Yes, the ole Army World War II Corporal would seek to inspire his second son to carry on........