Have You Earned Your Right to Be Called an American?

Let me start off this article by stating that I served in the U.S. Army as a Ranger, I have earned a college degree and I have paid taxes since the age of 17. My only son is currently a West Point cadet and served one year in the reserves as an enlisted private, so I'm writing from the standpoint that I have put my money where my mouth is, and my family does the same. When you have a child who is intelligent enough to get into one of the most prestigious universities in the world, he obviously had other options rather than serve in the military. Why did he choose West Point over other schools? Simply put, my son is a patriot. He saw that someone has to serve in the military. It is not only for bottom dwellers and those looking to avoid legal issues, like some would like you to think.

To serve in the military as a young adult, male or female, is a life changing event. You go from being a "I-think-I-know-everything" teenager to a slap-in-the-face reality check when you get to basic training. Then you might serve overseas in a war zone or a non war zone, and see firsthand what it is like to not be an American. There is an age old saying that says "freedom isn't free" and in this modern era, those words resound loudly. Sure there are political markers that we can all look at and say we shouldn't have done this, or we shouldn't have done that. But as an intelligent person, you can now look back and see that there are peoples and ideologies in this world that did not mesh with the American culture. These people and cultures have proven themselves over eras that they are not respectful of others who do not see things the way they do. They prove that human life is not valued the same was as we value life.

We have people in the United States that say they have the freedom of speech, so they choose to use that freedom to degrade those who serve in the military. They choose to use their freedoms to pursue protests of the government and its actions. They believe that their view is the only just view, and they rail to the winds for change to come about. Sometimes, we even find that change does come because of these few. What I wonder is, for the few that rally for change, is it just to suppose that the many who do not rally for change, like it the way it is? Why do they not rally for their belief? I believe that those who are content generally are lazy and do not choose to voice their opinions. I believe that people who do not speak up and out for their beliefs are equally at fault as those who speak out for change that can only hurt this country.

In the military of the cold war, getting an assignment overseas was sometimes the cream of the crop for a service member. Now we see combat stress, people going AWOL, citizens moving to Canada and for what? Fear? Genuine objection to what the military is assigned to do? I believe military service should be mandatory. No, I'm not advocating the draft to be reinstated. I'm advocating something more. I'm stating that every male and female between the ages of 18-30 who is able bodied and sound mind, should have to serve a minimum three year enlistment in a military branch, including the Coast Guard. Why should only ten percent of the US population serve in the military, while 100% of the US population enjoys the democracy and freedoms that service brings? Three years of your life isn't that big of a time to give to your country and fellow citizen. You earn a paycheck, benefits, college tuition, and credit as a federal employee if you choose to continue service in some branch of the government. You'll get into shape, you'll learn firsthand how the world outside works, and you'll have the earned right to question and protest. Yes, everyone has that right now, but as we all know, anything given to you is never valued and protected as well as anything you've earned yourself. Do you think those who simply wake up everyday in public housing, collect a welfare check and never served their fellow citizens one day in their life have earned the right to be upset when they don't get handed the things they want? I for one do not believe they've earned that right. I do not believe someone who has spent a lifetime working hard, raising a family, holding down a job and paying their taxes has done everything they could do to make this a better country. Did they serve those who are less fortunate? Did they paint someone's home or isn't able to paint it themselves? Did they feed a hungry person without expecting something in return? Did they do that for three years of their life? Some people in this world volunteer their time unselfishly and yes, I believe they have earned the right to be a citizen of the best country in the world. By and large, most people take their citizenship for granted. Somehow, they think that by simply being born an American gives them the right to have or do what they want.

Well, I put it to you, the reader, what have you done to earn your rights? What have you done to earn the right to question what others do? What have you done to earn the right to dispute what elected officials pass into law? They represent us, the people. But what have you done to earn the right to go to that elected official and tell them you don't agree with the way you are representing them? Did you go vote? Is that all you did? You can look yourself in the mirror and honestly know you have earned your rights? Can you look someone like me in the eye and tell me you have earned your right to do as I do?

Can you look my twenty one year old son in the eye and tell him you've earned it more than he has already?