America's Finest

This post was written by my husband, The Man. If you were not aware my husband is a member of the United States Air Force. He has been in the Air Force for eight years and he has been to war in Afghanistan. He asked to write a post for the Bungalow so he could express his gratitude for those who served before him and remind other Americans about the purpose of our national holiday "Veteran's Day". In the UK and Canada it is known as "Remembrance Day". A day to remember the sacrifices that our service members and the civilians who supported them during times of war. Please take a moment to remember the service members who have tried their best to keep you safe, no matter what country you are from.

As many Americans take this Veteran’s Day off from work, I want to remind all Americans of the importance of this day. It may be a well deserved break from the daily requirements of your job, but it serves a much higher purpose. As Americans, we live and breathe the freedom that many take for granted. This liberty that we all value has come at a steep price for many families and generations of Americans. We have persevered as a nation on the backs of ordinary men and women that have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. From our nation’s “War of Independence” to the battles in Afghanistan and Iraq today, thousands of our military’s greatest have paid the ultimate sacrifice. Our nation’s “finest” have continually fought for America’s freedom through the generations. People who values consist of God, nation, family, integrity, and service before self. People who consistently bear the awesome task of defending America. People who put individual desires to the side for the good of all Americans. These are the people who should be remembered on this holiday. America is the greatest nation on earth because of these people who sacrifice to defend freedom and liberty. As you go about your day, please take a moment to reflect and remember the lives of “America’s Finest,” who gave it all to make our nation what is it today.

Photo credit: U.S. Census Bureau

Is It Really Worth It?

My country, the USA, is founded on the principle of freedom. However, with freedom comes responsibility. You have freedom of speech. You can't falsely shout fire in a crowded theater for example (isn't that always the example!). To me, this "pastor" of this "church" down in Florida is doing exactly that by burning the Quran. How is that you ask?

Think of it like this. Afghanistan is the theater. The aflame Quran is the alleged fire. The people attacking our Soldiers, Airman, Marines is the aftermath. It will be a chain reaction, mark my words.

The people of Afghanistan, or the entire Islamic world, will not see this as an act by one wackadoodle pastor in Florida. They will see this as an act done by the entire United States against their religion. The people of these countries, more often than not, do not have access to the Internet. They cannot see the descent from the everyday Americans who think that this act is a horrible idea. They only hear from others, as gossip, that an American burned their holiest book. An act in their eyes that is worthy of waging war against Americans and American allies.

While I am just one voice, I am one voice saying "Stop this! Do not let this person do this to our troops! Do not let him corrupt Christianity! Do not let him corrupt America! Do not let him speak for America with his idiotic actions!" Freedom of speech has it's limits, this should be one of them. Killing troops knowingly by your actions is not covered in my book.

To you, Terry Jones, "pastor" of Dove World Outreach Center,

How dare you! How dare you put our troops at even more risk with your quest to sell more books. How dare you! Please, feel free to go to the front lines so that my friends who defend your freedom to "preach" this bull shit can come home.