Veterans Day

These mist covered mountains
Are a home now for me
But my home is the lowlands
And always will be
Some day you’ll return to
Your valleys and your farms
And you’ll no longer burn
To be brothers in arms

Through these fields of destruction
Baptisms of fire
I’ve watched all your suffering
As the battles raged higher
And though they did hurt me so bad
In the fear and alarm
You did not desert me
My brothers in arms

There’s so many different worlds
So many differents suns
And we have just one world
But we live in different ones

Now the sun’s gone to hell
And the moon’s riding high
Let me bid you farewell
Every man has to die

But it’s written in the starlight
And every line on your palm
We’re fools to make war
On our brothers in arms -Dire Straits
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It's Veterans' Day in America. A time when we remember the Treaty of Versailles signed at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. A diplomatic end to a gory and hard fought World War I. It is a day we remember the grim reality and sacrifice our citizen soldiers gave to live freely in America and Europe. Unfortunately it did not end all war.

Some TV stations are choosing not to show 'Saving Private Ryan' because of the violence but I think that it's right to show it. We bemoan the violence in Hollywood but I think realistic violence serves the opposite purpose. It's parents responsibility to watch it with their (older) children and maybe start a dialogue. Few soldiers talk about combat but Steven Spielberg has done it for them so that others won't forget.

We pray for those in Afghanistan, Iraq and beyond.

We’re fools to make war on our brothers in arms...

Hope on the eve of an election

“Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies.

“I find I'm so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head.
I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel. A free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain.
I hope I can make it across the border.
I hope to see my friend and shake his hand.
I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams.
I hope.” -Shawshank Redemption


Well it's election eve and nobody knows what tomorrow will bring. I'm full of hope- the hope of someone who would find unexpected joy in an upset. But mostly I pray that there's no violence or fraud or doubt about the outcome. The office of the Presidency has fallen in the eyes of many. We have been here before and will be again but before that cold January inauguaration I hope that the people's voice will be counted and heard.


"I'm happy. I'm feeling glad.
I've got sunshine in a bag.
I'm useless -but not for long.
The future is coming on." -Gorrillaz

Record voting numbers are good. They say my generation, the offspring of baby boomers, isn't political. Maybe that's true. We don't have much faith in a political system that only elects the wealthy, the hard edged and hardened survivors who make it to election day. Mine is a generation that concentrates on the details, issue by issue, and doesn't expect one candidate to personify a ideal. We are political in a less grandiose way. Here in my town the most active town councilor is under 35.

If I learned anything working on political campaigns it's this: Don't discount the people. Don't discount the belief that ours is a country still worth emulating. This is our home for our families and those to come. We may not tear it down but a little reconstruction is okay from time to time.
The beacon on the hill may dim but won't go out anytime soon.

Disrespect at the Olympics

"Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles."Olympic Charter, Fundamental principles, paragraph 2

I have to comment on the running of the men’s 100m dash yesterday. During the semifinals, two American runners looked at each other during the race and signaled to each other as though they should take the race. At the finish they bumped chests together and strutted. This is not the behavior of world class athletes in an Olympic games. One of them went on to win the gold medal but it makes me nervous to watch the relay race with twice as much testosterone on the line.

What these runners did was disrespectful to the runners, fans and the Olympics.
What has happened to respect and decorum? There should be zero tolerance for this behavior and a greater awareness that they are representing 281 million Americans who paid for their trip, their training and their right to wear USA of the front of their uniforms.

Time and again American athletes embarrass themselves and their fans. But this was on a bigger scale. This was international. It is a time to remember that you are American first, athlete second, college star third, ‘ insert name’ fourth. A race that lasts 10 seconds will not be as remembered as that bump on the chest and swagger on the track.

We as a country need a lesson in humility and how to win graciously. You don’t have to look too far back, just say Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who quietly raised the standard (and visibility) of the heptathlon while winning graciously. Ms. Joyner Kersee above all has respect for the games, the sport and the spirit of international competition. These men have none.