It is the soldier,
not the President,
who gives us democracy.
It is the soldier,
not the Congress,
who takes care of us.
It is the soldier,
not the reporter,
who has given us Freedom of Press.
It is the soldier,
not the poet,
who has given us Freedom of Speech.
It is the soldier,
not the campus organizer,
who has given us the Freedom to Demonstrate.
It is the soldier,
who salutes the flag,
who serves beneath the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag
that allows the protester to burn the flag.
By Father Dennis O’Brien
Chaplain
United States Marines
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.
“War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feelings which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.”
Socialism: You have 2 cows; give one to your neighbor.
Communism: You have 2 cows; government takes both and gives you the milk.
Fascism: You have 2 cows; government takes both and sells you the milk.
Nazism: You have 2 cows; the government takes both and shoots you.
Bureaucracy: You have 2 cows; the government takes both then shoots one, milks the other and throws away the milk.
Capitalism: You have 2 cows; you sell one and buy a bull.
We stalk through the valleys of the shadows of death and we shall fear no evil,
because we have contained the evil,
mastered the shadows,
and have already seen darker valleys.
C.M. Cox/USMC Force Recon Scout Sniper
“Of every one hundred men, Ten shouldn’t even be there, Eighty are nothing but targets, Nine are real fighters…We are lucky to have them…They make the battle. Ah, but the ONE, ONE of them is a WARRIOR…and HE will bring the others back.”–Hericletus (circa 500 BC)
Yeah, it’s from the end credits of Hamburger HIll, but I’ve always loved this speech.
“If you are able, save for them a place inside of you, and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go. Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not have always. Take what they have left and what they have taught you with their dying, and keep it with your own. And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind.”
-Major Michael O’Donnell, January 1, 1970, Dak To, Vietnam.
O’Donnell, a helicopter pilot, was declared Missing In Action on March 24, 1970, during a rescue attempt. His remains were returned in 1995, and identified in 2001.
“It is not the critic who counts…
not the man who points out where the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who’s gonna do it? You? You, Lieutenant Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that Santiago’s death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don’t want the truth because, deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said “thank you” and went on your way. Otherwise I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post. Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think you are entitled to.
Colonel Nathan R. Jessup (Jack Nicholson) in “A Few Good Men”
Then Y’shua said to them, “When I sent you out without a wallet, traveling bag, or sandals, you didn’t lack anything, did you?” “Not a thing!” they answered. Then he said to them, "But now, the person who has a wallet and a traveling bag should take them along. The person who doesn’t have a sword (a weapon of personal defense) should sell his coat and buy one.
(Luk 22:35-36)
“Speed is not part of the true Way of strategy. Speed implies that things seem fast or slow, according to whether or not they are in rhythm. Whatever the Way, the master of strategy does not appear fast.”
–Miyamoto Musashi
If you ever see a GrandMaster USPSA(IPSC) shooter like Todd Jarrett, Rob Leatham, Matt Burkett, Phil Strader shoot and this is easy to understand. They move so efficiently through a stage and don’t have unnecessary movements during the draw, reload and movement. It gives them more time for the shooting and makes them appear slow (but the timer says otherwise).