"Roger that!"

Some thoughts as we approach the 4th of July.



Although the Declaration of Independence was actually approved by the Second Continental Congress on July 2nd of 1776, the 4th of July is the day on which we Americans have celebrated our independence ever since. We find the flag somewhere in the garage and display it in front of our houses. We take a day off work. We have a cookout, drink and celebrate. We attend parades and fireworks displays. We play patriotic music.


We do all of this ... why? In rememberance. In remembrance of what? In remembrance of whom? What does it mean 233 years later to "remember" our independence? We "remember" the likes of George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. We "remember" shallow understandings of civil revolt, passionate speeches and the bloody battles which followed. Perhaps, though, we "remember" all of this too easily? In our minds they are storied, heroic, larger-than-life figures and events. They have become surreal and almost mythical in the 21st century. I suggest that if we pause to "remember" them on a deeper level, two things might happen. First, this Independence Day might take on a more rich meaning. Second, we might be compelled to "remember" some others who walk among us today and are no less deserving of this respect and appreciation.


American colonists considered themselves to be Englishmen. By and large, they had no intention of seeking their own country. They didn't want to be their own nation (at least not at the outset), they just wanted to have their individual and collective rights as Englishmen honored. They considered themselves loyal to the Crown, though they be an entire world away. As Englishmen, they understood their "rights" to have been previously expressed in the English Constitution, that formality which finally codified the truths contained within the Magna Carta and countless other written expressions of truth through the ages. These rights, as every Englishmen recognized, were granted by God and then recognized by the Crown. No piece of parchment or royal decree GAVE them these rights. God gave them these rights. Words on parchment simply evidenced the Crown's agreement that these rights had always existed.


The most fundamental of these rights was that of "liberty." The right they most fervently sought, the foremost cornerstone of their common cause, was the right to be represented in the government which ruled over them. To these men and their followers, liberty meant the God-given right to live free of unfair, unreasonable and undefendable governmental oppression. They did not seek any particular set of circumstances. They were not fighting over any particular law. Most admitted that they would accept being on the losing side of a legislative issue if their voices were simply heard in the process by a representative of their own election. They simply sought the ability to participate in the processes which resulted in the laws which in turn cast their common circumstances. They wanted this liberty for themselves and their fellow colonists; but, only in so far as they believed that every human born anywhere on this planet possessed the same right.


Their families, friends and neighbors pleaded with them not to undertake this effort. They were socially and commercially ostracized out of fear of guilt by association. They were ridiculed as irrational, sophomoric and impetuous. When these men, all of whom were already very prosperous individuals in their own right, made the fateful decision to join in and lead this revolt, they did so in sober and full recognition of three facts: (1) their cause would probably not succeed; (2) they each stood a very good chance of losing all of their property and even their very lives; and (3) despite the previous two facts, it was a stand worth taking on purely ideological grounds. In contrast to the well-remembered glorious futures of a few, the majority of them enjoyed a very different future. Most of them did end up losing all of their property, some lost their families, and still some even lost their lives. They were declared traitors by the Crown. They were hunted as criminals by the most powerful military in the world. They were betrayed by family, friends and neighbors. They fled their homes and businesses in fear, seeking refuge wherever possible. In other words, most of our Founding Fathers paid a sacrifice that most of us can't even begin to imagine paying.


Over 230 years later, as we "remember" these patriots, please extend those thoughts and admiration to another group of Americans whose sacrifices are no less honorable and no less costly. Regardless of whether or not you think that we should be at war in Afghanistan and/or Iraq, please consider two very important facts on this 4th of July. First, those whom we sent to carry out these missions volunteered for just such a time as this, prospectively pledging all they had in any effort to crush any enemy who would declare or conduct war against Americans. Second, even though it wasn't an official aim of any DOD war plan, these soldiers quickly learned that the primary byproduct of their efforts would be to secure "liberty" for millions of oppressed people. This realization served to strengthen the commitment of these soldiers to their cause. They took pride in finding themselves as guardians of these folks. This was the very same "liberty" for which our Founding Fathers fought - that liberty granted by God which knows no temporal limitation, no geographic boundary, no racial or religious distinction, and no political affiliation.


In order to bring an end to the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan (thereby denying Bin Laden's Al Qaeda safe-harbor), American forces knew that they would need to befriend indigenous Afghans who were willing to resist the Taliban. They would have to be successful at forging a mutuality of common interests. We wanted to defeat the enemy who had attacked us; and, they wanted to achieve "liberty" for themselves. Neither could happen without the other. The same formula existed in Iraq as those who had suffered for decades under Saddam's ruthless indifference agreed to join our efforts to take him down in order to reclaim their rightful "liberty." We had no interest or aim in trying to convert these Muslims to Christianity; yet, we made no effort to hide our belief that liberty is only secured by that process we have come to call democracy (the right to vote).


We took volunteer soldiers, almost all of whom enjoy an annual income lower then the average American, and we sent them into harm's way. No doubt, their family and friends couldn't stand to think of the possible outcomes. No doubt, none of these soldiers wanted to die. Still, they went because like our Founding Fathers, they knew that their cause was just and worthy of suffering the unthinkable in its pursuit. They each knew they might pay the ultimate sacrifice. Still, they went.


Without diminishing the service of any, we should most poignantly remember those who voluntarily undertook the most impossible assignments. These soldiers were asked to do that which most thought probably couldn't be done; yet, one by one, unit by unit, they agreed with concern but without hesitation. This was the reason for which they had trained all those years. Yes, many of them "itched" for the chance to go to war; but, not out of bloodlust, rather out of the desire for any chance to serve - to serve in pursuit of a worthy cause. We stretched thin the world's most advanced military technology. We pushed individuals beyond what was already understood to be "the breaking point." We asked them to plan for the unforseeable and overcome the unimaginable.


Though extraordinary, these soldiers are as normal as me and you. They have spouses, children, bills to pay, family issues, worries about the future and every other sort of normal concern. 75% of our military today are married with children, and most are over the age of 25. One day they were sitting at the dinner table with their families, or trying to figure out how to stretch this month's paycheck another week, or helping to coach a little league baseball game. Less than a week later they were hanging on for the helicopter ride of their lives, skimming 50 feet in whiteout conditions over a desert wasteland in the back of a Chinook moving 150 miles per hour. Despite the freezing cold, the rear door was left open in order that they could try to jump out should they be hit by enemy fire. No lights were allowed for fear of detection. Their pilots used only night-vision and thermal imaging technology to keep from running into the ground. They were headed for an invisible landing zone, deep in the heart of their enemy, marked in the darkness by a single infrared strobe light. They were anxious to be purposefully dropped off in the middle of nowhere with absolutely no expectation of a quick rescue should something go wrong. We are all now accustomed to the surety of a 911 system; but, these guys knew that there was no hope if their mission suddenly went south.

Before leaving they had individually already made up their minds as to how they would die if it came to that. They would die fighting, leaving it all on the battlefield. They updated and recorded their wills. They wrote letters to be delivered only upon their death. They spent a precious few hours with their wives and children, knowing it may be the last. As they headed out, they removed all insignia from their uniforms and surrendered all personal effects which might serve to identify them as Americans.


They entered a world which our culture can scarcely understand. For all intents and purposes, they might as well have been entering the 12th century. Even though they brought to bear the world's most sophisticated weaponry, the delivery of those weapons was now dependent on horses, resourceful thinking and dead-reckoning. Once they realized their dilemma, they could have simply requested exfiltration; but, they didn't. They stayed, they fought, and they overcame. From Operation Redwing to Robert's Ridge to ODA574, they did what most of us would not have done. Just as Washington, Adams and Jefferson did so long ago, they voluntarily did what most of us would not have done.


And, just like those Founding Fathers, they did it out of devotion to the cause of liberty. In this instance, their efforts to preserve our liberty required that they secure liberty for millions of oppressed in Afghanistan and Iraq. In each case, they needed the help and alliance of the oppressed themselves in order to topple cruel regimes who posed a threat to Americans. Can you imagine UK football games being preceded by the public shooting and beheading of women accused of infidelity? Can you imagine their heads being displayed on pikes in the middle of the field as athletes waited to compete? Can you imagine the government demanding that this despotic act occur before the opening kick-off? That is what life for these people was like before we "invaded." Our self-interested efforts to maintain our own safety happened to also be the only hope that these people had of escaping that sort of cruelty.

I know a few of these soldiers. My cousin's Chinook was shot down while attempting a rescue of some Army Rangers high on a mountaintop in Afghanistan. He almost lost his hand after a Taliban AK-47 round shredded it. After months of rehab and as quickly as the Army would let him, he returned to his unit and his cockpit. Another priceless friend led an Army National Guard batallion as they left their day jobs for a tour in Iraq. He had a child on the way, and had to say good-bye to his wife and daughter. Day after day for months he led patrols on the hunt for IED's, knowing each time they left the compound that today might be the day. Joy doesn't begin to describe the feelings we had as all but one of them finally rolled back into a small Tennessee town on charter buses. I suspect that most of you also know one of these soldiers. Some will never come home.

So, this 4th of July, as you celebrate and "remember" those heroic colonists who led the fight for your independence from government without representation, remember these soldiers as well. As you remember and repeat the eloquent verbage and speeches forever associated with that period, remember the quiet resolve and dedication with which today's soldiers head out in the face of fear. Our nation called. The cause of liberty called. And in response every one of them simply said, "Roger that," "Semper Fi," "Hooah," or "Aye Aye." And in every case, there was an exclamation mark at the end. The fight for independence isn't locked away in the annals of history - it continues today. While we celebrate the efforts and results of our Founding Fathers, let us remember that we also owe equal homage to those who continue that fight today.

"Independence" is not an American idea. It doesn't belong to us. We weren't the first to fight for it. It's a God-given right for which countless battles have been waged. Some were won and some were lost. Despite the odds, each enemy of this right of mankind was squarely engaged by volunteer heroes. As we Americans celebrate this "Independence Day," we owe ongoing honor and remembrance to those who continue to agree to pay the ultimate sacrifice.

Happy 4th of July.



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