Veterans Day (Duty, Honor, Country)

Below is General Douglas MacArthur's farewell speech to the cadets at West Point. Please take time to read and reflect on its body.
General Douglas MacArthur's Farewell Speech

Given to the Corps of Cadets at West Point

May 12, 1962

General Westmoreland, General Groves, distinguished guests, and gentlemen of the Corps. As I was leaving the hotel this morning, a doorman asked me, "Where are you bound for, General?" and when I replied, "West Point," he remarked, "Beautiful place, have you ever been there before?"

No human being could fail to be deeply moved by such a tribute as this, coming from a profession I have served so long and a people I have loved so well. It fills me with an emotion I cannot express. But this award is not intended primarily for a personality, but to symbolize a great moral code - the code of conduct and chivalry of those who guard this beloved land of culture and ancient descent. That is the meaning of this medallion. For all eyes and for all time, it is an expression of the ethics of the American soldier. That I should be integrated in this way with so noble an ideal arouses a sense of pride and yet of humility which will be with me always.

"Duty," "Honor," "Country" - those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you want to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn. Unhappily, I possess neither that eloquence of diction, that poetry of imagination, nor that brilliance of metaphor to tell you all that they mean.

The unbelievers will say they are but words, but a slogan, but a flamboyant phrase. Every pedant, every demagogue, every cynic, every hypocrite, every troublemaker, and, I am sorry to say, some others of an entirely different character, will try to downgrade them even to the extent of mockery and ridicule.

But these are some of the things they do. They build your basic character. They mold you for your future roles as the custodians of the nation's defense. They make you strong enough to know when you are weak, and brave enough to face yourself when you are afraid.

They teach you to be proud and unbending in honest failure, but humble and gentle in success; not to substitute words for action; not to seek the path of comfort, but to face the stress and spur of difficulty and challenge; to learn to stand up in the storm, but to have compassion on those who fall; to master yourself before you seek to master others; to have a heart that is clean, a goal that is high; to learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; to reach into the future, yet never neglect the past; to be serious, yet never take yourself too seriously; to be modest so that you will remember the simplicity of true greatness; the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.

They give you a temperate will, a quality of imagination, a vigor of the emotions, a freshness of the deep springs of life, a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, an appetite for adventure over love of ease. They create in your heart the sense of wonder, the unfailing hope of what next, and the joy and inspiration of life. They teach you in this way to be an officer and a gentleman.

And what sort of soldiers are those you are to lead? Are they reliable? Are they brave? Are they capable of victory?

Their story is known to all of you. It is the story of the American man at arms. My estimate of him was formed on the battlefields many, many years ago, and has never changed. I regarded him then, as I regard him now, as one of the world's noblest figures; not only as one of the finest military characters, but also as one of the most stainless.

His name and fame are the birthright of every American citizen. In his youth and strength, his love and loyalty, he gave all that mortality can give. He needs no eulogy from me, or from any other man. He has written his own history and written it in red on his enemy's breast.

But when I think of his patience under adversity, of his courage under fire, and of his modesty in victory, I am filled with an emotion of admiration I cannot put into words. He belongs to history as furnishing one of the greatest examples of successful patriotism. He belongs to posterity as the instructor of future generations in the principles of liberty and freedom. He belongs to the present, to us, by his virtues and by his achievements.

In twenty campaigns, on a hundred battlefields, around a thousand campfires, I have witnessed that enduring fortitude, that patriotic self-abnegation, and that invincible determination which have carved his statue in the hearts of his people.

From one end of the world to the other, he has drained deep the chalice of courage. As I listened to those songs of the glee club, in memory's eye I could see those staggering columns of the First World War, bending under soggy packs on many a weary march, from dripping dusk to drizzling dawn, slogging ankle deep through mire of shell-pocked roads; to form grimly for the attack, blue-lipped, covered with sludge and mud, chilled by the wind and rain, driving home to their objective, and for many, to the judgment seat of God.

I do not know the dignity of their birth, but I do know the glory of their death. They died unquestioning, uncomplaining, with faith in their hearts, and on their lips the hope that we would go on to victory. Always for them: Duty, Honor, Country. Always their blood, and sweat, and tears, as they saw the way and the light.

And twenty years after, on the other side of the globe, against the filth of dirty foxholes, the stench of ghostly trenches, the slime of dripping dugouts, those boiling suns of the relentless heat, those torrential rains of devastating storms, the loneliness and utter desolation of jungle trails, the bitterness of long separation of those they loved and cherished, the deadly pestilence of tropic disease, the horror of stricken areas of war.

Their resolute and determined defense, their swift and sure attack, their indomitable purpose, their complete and decisive victory - always victory, always through the bloody haze of their last reverberating shot, the vision of gaunt, ghastly men, reverently following your password of Duty, Honor, Country.

The code which those words perpetuate embraces the highest moral laws and will stand the test of any ethics or philosophies ever promulgated for the uplift of mankind. Its requirements are for the things that are right, and its restraints are from the things that are wrong. The soldier, above all other men, is required to practice the greatest act of religious training - sacrifice. In battle and in the face of danger and death, he discloses those divine attributes which his Maker gave when he created man in his own image. No physical courage and no brute instinct can take the place of the Divine help which alone can sustain him. However horrible the incidents of war may be, the soldier who is called upon to offer and to give his life for his country, is the noblest development of mankind.

You now face a new world, a world of change. The thrust into outer space of the satellite, spheres and missiles marked the beginning of another epoch in the long story of mankind - the chapter of the space age. In the five or more billions of years the scientists tell us it has taken to form the earth, in the three or more billion years of development of the human race, there has never been a greater, a more abrupt or staggering evolution. We deal now not with things of this world alone, but with the illimitable distances and as yet unfathomed mysteries of the universe. We are reaching out for a new and boundless frontier. We speak in strange terms: of harnessing the cosmic energy; of making winds and tides work for us; of creating unheard synthetic materials to supplement or even replace our old standard basics; of purifying sea water for our drink; of mining ocean floors for new fields of wealth and food; of disease preventatives to expand life into the hundred of years; of controlling the weather for a more equitable distribution of heat and cold, of rain and shine; of space ships to the moon; of the primary target in war, no longer limited to the armed forces of an enemy, but instead to include his civil populations; of ultimate conflict between a united human race and the sinister forces of some other planetary galaxy; of such dreams and fantasies as to make life the most exciting of all time.

And through all this welter of change and development your mission remains fixed, determined, inviolable. It is to win our wars. Everything else in your professional career is but corollary to this vital dedication. All other public purpose, all other public projects, all other public needs, great or small, will find others for their accomplishments; but you are the ones who are trained to fight.

Yours is the profession of arms, the will to win, the sure knowledge that in war there is no substitute for victory, that if you lose, the Nation will be destroyed, that the very obsession of your public service must be Duty, Honor, Country.

Others will debate the controversial issues, national and international, which divide men's minds. But serene, calm, aloof, you stand as the Nation's war guardians, as its lifeguards from the raging tides of international conflict, as its gladiators in the arena of battle. For a century and a half you have defended, guarded and protected its hallowed traditions of liberty and freedom, of right and justice.

Let civilian voices argue the merits or demerits of our processes of government. Whether our strength is being sapped by deficit financing indulged in too long, by federal paternalism grown too mighty, by power groups grown too arrogant, by politics grown too corrupt, by crime grown too rampant, by morals grown too low, by taxes grown too high, by extremists grown too violent; whether our personal liberties are as firm and complete as they should be.

These great national problems are not for your professional participation or military solution. Your guidepost stands out like a tenfold beacon in the night: Duty, Honor, Country.

You are the leaven which binds together the entire fabric of our national system of defense. From your ranks come the great captains who hold the Nation's destiny in their hands the moment the war tocsin sounds.

The long gray line has never failed us. Were you to do so, a million ghosts in olive drab, in brown khaki, in blue and gray, would rise from their white crosses, thundering those magic words: Duty, Honor, Country.

This does not mean that you are warmongers. On the contrary, the soldier above all other people prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. But always in our ears ring the ominous words of Plato, that wisest of all philosophers: "Only the dead have seen the end of war."

The shadows are lengthening for me. The twilight is here. My days of old have vanished - tone and tints. They have gone glimmering through the dreams of things that were. Their memory is one of wondrous beauty, watered by tears and coaxed and caressed by the smiles of yesterday. I listen then, but with thirsty ear, for the witching melody of faint bugles blowing reveille, of far drums beating the long roll.

In my dreams I hear again the crash of guns, the rattle of musketry, the strange, mournful mutter of the battlefield. But in the evening of my memory I come back to West Point. Always there echoes and re-echoes: Duty, Honor, Country.

Today marks my final roll call with you. But I want you to know that when I cross the river, my last conscious thoughts will be of the Corps, and the Corps, and the Corps.

I bid you farewell.

I really need your help!!!

I really need everyones help. With all this discussion on healthcare I am a little confused on what should be done. You see, I have always been one of those who has felt that we should all take responsiblity for our own actions. I have done it and I expect others to follow suit. But I have a couple of real life situations that I need some help on. Here they are:

1) We are going to call this person John. John was having severe pain in his back. He thought he had pulled a muscle or something in his lower back but had no insurance and could not afford to go to a doctor so he ignored it. The pain continued on and on but he just hoped it would eventually go away. A year or so passed and the pain continued and actually increased. Finally, John went to see a doctor. The doctor imediately put him into the hospital. To make a long story short John had kidney disease that eventually costs him a kidney. No insurance the total costs @ $250,00 that he has no chance of paying. The Dr. states that if they had caught it early enough they could have saved the kidney plus the pain and suffering that came and continues with it.

2) We are going to call this person Mary. This person is someone who has tried to do everything right her entire life. Started and was successful for a while in her own business. For many reasons, her business closed and in the process she lost everything. Her house, her business and her dignity. Mary was forced at 52 to move back in with her elderly mother. Mary has had many physical ailments throughout her life and such her health insurance is @$1500.00 per month. Without insurance her prescryptions run $1400 per mo. A year later she can no longer afford health insurance. She falls between the cracks of medicaid and disablity. With her age and medical history, the chances of her finding employment are slim. What is she to do?

Folks these are 2 people I actually know. This is not a scare tactic or stories made up. What are we to do? To help these people some would call it socialism, or government interference. We scream about choice, but what are their choices?
Call me whatever you may, I am big enough and tough enough to take it. But I really am ashamed of a country that allows this to happen. Matt. 25 tells us that what we do for the least we do to Jesus.

I look forward to your replies.

Syd

Microwave Minds

I apologize, and I admit it, I now understand why they call it "CrackBook", I'm addicted. Since signing up for Face Book I have not taken the time to write anything on this blog. The problem is, with Face Book you don't have to think. You can just write a quick sentence of what is on your mind and leave it at that. This is the world we live in. Between twittering, facebook, texting and instant messaging, our thought process has been deminished to a simple sentence.
Recenting we lost a great journalist and a great man in Dan Foster. Dan had a great gift of taking any sporting event and giving it a personal feel. You felt you were there. Dan's insights into the upstate and upstate sports legend were built over a lifetime. His unique perspectives would translate into a story that you felt was being told to you by your next door neighbor. He was our ears and voice to the outside world, whether it was at the Super Bowl,the Masters, or the Kentucky Derby, Dan brought it all back to us in a way that we could all identify with. Sadly, the days of the Dan Foster's and Jim Murrays of the world are going away.
Imagine these guys trying to describe Jack Nicklaus's charge on the back nine at Augusta in a twitter message. Or him texting you with JN birdd #13 4 led. Or Jim Murray IMing you with Secrtariat Fast Horse. It just doesn't feel right does it.
This instant gratification society we live in has brought us to this point. No thinking required. It's more important to know that someone is eating dinner than for them to describe what they had. I'm waiting for the day that our sermons will be texted or on twitter. I can see it now, JC luvs u, luv ur nghbor, c u in hven.

LOL,
C U on FB
SS

Christian Nation

It's been a while since I have taken the time to write anything. Alot has happened. Birth's and deaths, basketball and work, the normal things that happen when you have a very large extended family. The births and deaths I will write about in the next couple of days. This morning riding to work I made the mistake and found myself listening to the local talk radio. The discussion was on the president's remark of this not being a christian nation, nor a jewish nation etc, etc but a nation of citizens. All the callers (as you would expect) said we are a christian nation.

All though I agree that the majority of Americans claim to be Christians, are we truely a Christian Nation? As a nation do we strive to be Christ Like? Do we love our enemies? When we give to the needy Do we "announce it with trumpets" or "give in secret"? Are we a Christian Nation when 44% of married men, and 36% of married women have committed adultery? We want to announce to the world that we are a Christian Nation, but we are the only country in the world to have ever used a nuclear bomb on another country. We are quick to invade a country for military use but slow to send troops into Dafur."Whatever you did not do for the least of these you did not do for me". So are we a Christian Nation?

I have always said that no one should ever have to ask whether or not you are a Christian. Your actions and the way you treat others should be proof enough. The same applies to our country. No one should ever have to ask whether or not America is a Christian Nation. Our actions should remove all doubt. St. Francis of Assisi says " Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words".

Syd

Bye!!!

I thought of something over the week-end as I was watching a new documentary on HBO. The documentary was done over the course of the election with all the views coming from the McCain campaign. The amount of hatred was unreal. I also remembered how many people said that if Obama won they would leave the country. Well, I'm figuring it was @ 5-7% of the population. If this is the case and our national un-employment is @ 7.5%, then I have one word for them, BYE. It's time to go. If you are so unhappy, leave and let someone have your job. Also, leave the keys to your home for the people who are losing their homes to foreclosure. My expedition is about to turn 285k, I need your car also. That is if you are not taking it with you. Yep, gotta go. You are the ones preaching honesty and integrity. If you said it then stand by your words, pack your stuff and get out.

And please take Mark Sanford with you.

Syd

It's everybody's child support

This morning the rants and raves continued about PRESIDENT OBAMA'S plan to help the toxic morgages. Everyone was saying "we shouldn't help these people who bought beyond their means", or "I paid my morgage on time, why should I be responsible for their irresponsiblity?". Well as I see it there are a couple of factors that have been left out.

1) If you did not see your house go up in value over the last 7 years then you are right, you shouldn't have to assist. The value of houses did not go up 5-7% annually on their own. It was a direct result of more buyers (qualified or not) entering the market. Greenville was not as badly effected as other markets but we for sure were not exempt.

2) If you did not see a significant jump in your 401 or in your stocks during this period you are exempt too. In Jan 2003 the stock market was at @7600 pts. Over the next 5 years it almost doubled. Peaking at @ 14000 at the end of 2007. People were not only buying houses they couldn't afford, but they were 2nd/3rd mortgaging and buying items they couldn't afford. Thus driving up the market with borrowed money.

It happens all the time. During those prosperous 80's, it was called junk bonds. The market crashed in 89,we stayed in a recession until the mid-90's then the dot.coms came to the rescue. The market took a downturn in 2000, 9/11 hit and we used make believe mortgages and money to bail us out. The only problem this time is peoples homes and lives are effected. We used greed and a lack of oversights to create this problem. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend watching "House of Cards" on CNBC. It is very educational and explains how deep it really goes.

Bottom line is this: homes and the stock market were never meant to be cash registers or slot machines. Houses were things you made a home of and raised your family in. The stock market was something for long term investments. Not a source for a quick fix. This is our baby.

"People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction". 1 Timothy 6:9

Syd

http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Dow_Jones_Industrial_Average_(.DJIA)/WikiChart

Does this sound familiar?

Someone please help me here. Utah goes 13-0 and doesn't win the National Championship. They beat 4 ranked teams, destroyed Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and still no national championship. Florida had a loss, and was losing to Alabama into the 4th quarter. Oklahoma a loss. Texas a loss. USC lost to Oregon State who Utah beat earlier in the season. What more did Utah have to do? They did everything they were asked to do and still was not invited to this private club known as the BCS. The BCS, a system to make the rich richer and to keep the poor poorer.
The BCS is more of a reflection of our country over the past 20 years than we want to admit. More times than not it seems that those who do everything that is asked of them are left out of the party. You do all that is asked of you at your job, and it is sent overseas. You buy a house in your price range only to see the overbuilt and overpriced houses around you foreclosed on, and thus drive down the value of yours. The so-called best schools are built near the more affluent areas of a city. Thus denying equal education for all social classes. Your kids must go to the "Right" church or wear the "Right" cloths to fit in and be invited into the club.
In the coming years what incentive does Utah or any other school have for seeking perfection? It's not going to insure anything but self satisfaction. Knowing that you have done your best whether its on a playing field, as a husband/father, employee, or simply being a decent human being, should be all that is needed anyway. In Utah they know who the champions are.

Syd
"If it makes you happy, it can't be that bad"
If it makes you happy, Then why in the hell are you so sad"
Sheryl Crow

No Excuses, No Pics only this

It's been almost 2 months since I have taken the time to post a blog. Baron DeKalb reminded me this past Tuesday at Madmen. Those who know me know that it wasn't from not having anything to say but basically from laziness and a problem with pictures. See, someone suggested a while back to add pictures to my blog. Well that would be fine and dandy if this was meant to be a running pictorial of the day to day life of Anna and Syd Smith. Its not. I always viewed this as an avenue for me to express my feelings on certain subjects. A place to let off a little steam and a place (as meagerly as it is) to realize my journalistic dreams. In my early years I dreamt of being the next Woodward of Bernstein. The funny thing was so did alot of others. Damn that "All the Presidents Men". My letters to the Editor at the Greenville News filled some of the void. But, owning a local business I had to be carefull on what I wrote or said. Here I don't have to make any excuses or begin to explain my warped view of the world. So Peg, No Pics and No excuses.

Now that the new year is upon us I have plenty of things to say. I'm not going to waste alot of time reliving the past 2 months. In a nutshell it went like this:
1) Clemson beat USC. (Nothing new, one is always the hammer and the other the nail)
2) Dabo got the job. (I was very happy. $$$$$)
3) Christmas with 4.5 grandchildren was what you would expect.
4) Bethelem Revisited - COLD!!!
5) New Years Day - a 50/50 split. Good Randall's Food, Bad Gator Bowl.

There you have it. I'm not going to worry about finding or uploading pictures only giving my opinion on things that don't matter to most.

PS: Peggy, I am working on another blogspot for pictures and happenings with our clan. That will hopefully be a joint effort.

Also, 10 days left until Inaguration!!!

Syd