Remembering on Memorial Day

Here's a speech I wrote for my boss back in the press secretary days. Of all the duties of that job, writing speeches for the congressman was my absolute favorite.

This speech was delivered at the dedication of a memorial to a living veteran, so it may be more appropriate to post on November 11. Still, it's worth remembering the sacrifice of all veterans - those who came home, and those who didn't - on Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and year round.

As prepared for delivery, the speech of U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller at the dedication ceremony of the Kasler-Momence Veterans Park, Momence, IL, September 15, 2007.

As a Member of Congress, you are invited to attend a number of different events in a number of different places on various occasions. But it is an especially meaningful engagement when we can honor the sacrifice of our heroes in the military.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Throughout my career I've learned that veterans usually continue their service to their country at a local level. Back in 1996, I worked with a group of local veterans who helped bring the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery to our area. It was included in the Illinois Land Conservation Act, which authorized the redevelopment of the Joliet Arsenal. As many of you know, the Arsenal was the leading producer of TNT for U.S. Army in World War 2 through Vietnam. Now because of the hard work of local veteran volunteers, that site which was once used to make war...is now a place of peace for those who have died defending our country.

We're gathered here today in the same spirit to dedicate this park in the name of those who have bravely worn the uniform of the United States armed forces, and to honor a local hero whose courage and sacrifice is a testament to the kind of people who make up the greatest fighting force in the history of the world.

Colonel James Kasler represents the uncommon courage that is found in our military men and women. His distinguished record of service includes 76 awards for valor and service, and Colonel Kasler has the distinction of being the only person in our country's history, dead or alive, to receive the Air Force Cross three times.

His career as a decorated combat pilot began as a B-29 tail gunner over Japan in World War 2. He went on to become a jet ace in Korea, and showed remarkable bravery volunteering for bombing runs in Vietnam.

On his 91st mission, Colonel Kasler was shot down while covering for his wingman. He would go on to endure 6-and-a-half years in a Vietnamese prison camp, and would become a role model for his fellow prisoners, including Senator John McCain of Arizona.

It is this model of self-sacrifice, leadership, and bravery under excruciating circumstances that we honor with the dedication of the Kasler-Momence Veterans Park. It is fitting that we honor Colonel Kasler in this way, because I believe when we honor one veteran, we honor them all.

James Kasler is the face of the valor that all our veterans demonstrated when they put on the uniform of our armed forces. So today we also honor all those veterans who served and those future veterans who are currently serving. Hundreds of thousands of military personnel go about their task every day without complaint, often far from their families and in hostile conditions - and too many don't make it home. Their service keeps us free.

Their families make the sacrifice too. Spouses, children, parents, brothers and sisters - with their prayers, letters and packages - stand solidly behind their family members. How many of us have watched the tearful goodbye of a mother to her son or daughter in uniform at the airport, train, or bus station? This park is also for those who supported our veterans at home.

The Kasler-Momence Veterans Park will be a reminder to future generations of the sacrifice made by the men and women who keep us free, and their families. Years from now, youngsters will come to this park with their parents and grandparents and ask about the statue of James Kasler. And the adults will have a chance to share with the younger generation the true meaning of dedication, honor, and patriotism.

We dedicate this park today in thought and prayer for our military men and women who have served before us and those who serve today, and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country. America is a special place made possible by our veterans and military. It is because we are the Home of the Brave that we remain the Land of the Free. Thank you.

 You feel me?

On Entitlement

There's a word that is starting to grate on me more and more with every time I hear it. It has become ubiquitous, but its popularity has little to do with my annoyance. Its denotation has long since been trampled by its connotation, and what it connotes to me anymore is arrogance and self-righteousness.

There are still harmless uses of this word, to be sure. But it seems its benign usage is now reserved for things like advertisements or a relatively restrained expression of joy at the success of others. (The latter, of course, being all too uncommon.) This term was never meant to carry the significance to which many attach to it. Instead, its utterance tells us more about its speaker than they may ever realize.

It often is spoken in attitudes and actions, not with voice and breath. Whatever the case, its verbalization reveals an acutely inward-looking mindset. "Well you don't know what I've been through!" often comes the follow. Unpleasant circumstances are almost always the catalyst for its speaking, even those uncomfortable situations created by one's own systemic lack of sound judgment and self-control. This term is well-worn in the vocabulary of the petulant.

The word in question is "deserve."

I've seen at least its attitudinal manifestation in people in virtually every corner of life. Professionally, people demand benefits and perks that far outweigh their contribution to the organization. Socially, many declare as "rights" that which is unnecessary or altogether obscene. Relationally, people become so fixated on self-gratification that prudence and propriety become hurdles to vanquish, not ideals to cherish. "Enough is enough. I deserve this."

Each of these areas is a volume unto itself, but it's worth mentioning the ever-presence of this mindset in 2012. As a society, we seem to be doing more and more for "me." We're under the delusion that the universe owes us something - sometimes because we feel like we've put in our dues, but not always.

What's most alarming is the mental back flips we'll undertake to rationalize our own desires and behavior. We'll rationalize our current error by claiming it's altogether different than our past errors, and expect others to rejoice in our newfound self-actualization. (No, really. I've witnessed it.) We'll keep decades-long lists of ways our company or our significant other has wronged us, but fail to accurately assess our own role in the situation. All the while, we readily cite some unwritten law that states what we want is exactly what should come to us, for no other apparent reason than we were born.

It becomes especially disheartening when I see people of faith live as though God has imparted to them a new revelation that mysteriously conforms Scripture to their own tendencies and desires. "I've prayed on it, and God says I deserve a life more abundant," they'll cop. And again, this attitude pervades every area of life on this earth - career, lifestyle, even the holy union of marriage. Their scalpel-job on sound doctrine is difficult to bear.

Here's the big secret no one seems to want to hear: God, your employer, your social circle - none of them are obligated to fulfill items on the list of things you think you "deserve." That you have the blessings you do is evidence that you've beaten the odds. Many who read this will do so from the comfort of their living room, with aids to help them see, at their own computer, under a roof that keeps them warm and dry, wearing clothes they selected by choice, in relative safety and good health with loved ones just a cell phone call away.

What do we "deserve," indeed?

If we can change our attitude, perhaps a change in vocabulary will follow - and I won't have to hear this term that is becoming such a paltry mask to hide a deeper misunderstanding of the world and one's place in it.

You feel me?

AF

Kony, slacktivism, and kids these days

That's me, handling questions I saw coming. Via

The life of a congressional press secretary was predictably unpredictable. Stay with me as I relay a little story.

In the spring of 2007, I accompanied the congressman on a routine day in the district. These days are commonplace for legislators. They feature various meetings with municipal leaders, businesses, organizations, and at times, universities - all designed for elected officials to keep up-to-date on the issues on the minds of their constituents. It was part of my responsibilities to pull together information - facts, figures, policy statements - on topics that were likely to come up in the course of these meetings. The material was placed in a book for the congressman to review when he landed in the district and as we were being shuttled to and from our various appointments.

Usually I nailed it. There was seldom, if ever, an issue that came up that wasn't covered in the material I or other members of the staff provided. But on the day in question, the congressman was scheduled to hold a Q-and-A with a group of college students. This one had me a little thrown. I had only been a college student five years prior, but I really had no idea what would come up in this session.

I felt at ease as the first several students lobbed softballs at my boss. Jobs, healthcare, even the thorny issue of Iraq - all were issues we saw coming.

But then it happened.

One particularly smug young man raised his hand and asked, point blank, what the congressman was doing individually to alleviate the plight of women and children in Uganda.

Really, kid? Uganda?

That was totally off the radar before that day. And personally, the plight of those in Uganda didn't really surface in my conscience again until a month ago, when the Kony 2012 video produced by the humanitarian group Invisible Children was released.

I'm rarely moved by these kinds of things, and the Kony campaign was no different. It most certainly wasn't because I thought it was an unworthy cause. It wasn't its idealism that borders on naivete. It wasn't the short-sighted criticism the group faced in the days after it reached global notoriety. It wasn't even the bizarre but overblown incident involving the film's director.

Via

The problem is that campaigns like this breed a false sense of achievement among supporters who seek to align themselves with a popular movement. I know that sounds dismissive and even offensive. But the fact is the atrocities in Uganda have gone on for decades. It is a situation infinitely more complex than can be conveyed in a 30-minute documentary, however well-produced it may be. The Kony 2012 creators have set off a movement by creating a stirring piece that can be shared easily via Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and myriad other social networks. Many who simply share the film on their profiles truly believe they are doing their part to end child abduction and bloodshed.


There is a word for that kind of thing. It's called slacktivism. It's the belief that an action involving little more than a click of a mouse or a positive thought can effect real change. It's largely a feel-good measure that has little to do with actual sacrifice on the part of the practitioner, and little to do with actually solving the problem at hand.

I fully recognize the Kony 2012 creators plead with their audience to contact their lawmakers to make Kony an issue - "make him famous" as the video says. And it appears some did, as the latest video installment of the campaign, "Beyond Famous," features prominently. Yet it is telling that as of this blog post, that sequel has fewer than 1/20 of the views of its predecessor over the same period.

Which brings us back to that ambitious college student from my brief political career, and an observation on him and his peers. Theirs is a generation for whom the world is a much smaller place than at any time in history. They don't feel obstructed by vast geographical distances in their pursuit of justice. The technology they've grown up with enables them to learn about suffering in places like Uganda with remarkable speed, and connect with each other to share their findings in real time. Theirs is a global idealism, and for that, they should be commended.

Yet the technology that empowers also hinders in that it allows for the kind of passive engagement that yields little in the way of demonstrable results. While it may be unpopular to hear, your posting of the Kony video on your Facebook page alone did little to stop the practice of recruiting child soldiers. Moreover, if campaign supporters were as committed as the original flurry of likes and shares indicated, the sequel video would have more than just a five percent share of the original video's views. This generation seems to lack the attention span their ambition demands.

That is not the fault of the Kony creators. Their charter is to raise awareness, and little more. In that, they've succeeded. But if the end goal is to solve the problem, awareness is only a (small) part of the equation.


You feel me?

AF

My Top 10 Peyton Manning Moments

For those who may not remember, care, or care to remember - back when I started this blog, I figured I would write an awful lot about my favorite sports teams. That was in 2009, and it would've been a great time to do so. Then, the Colts were in the midst of rattling off 14 straight wins en route to their second AFC Championship in three years.

I really haven't done much sports here, figuring there were thousands of people more qualified to speak on the topic. (Though that's not stopped me from commenting on a whole host of other issues.) But the news that broke on Tuesday of Peyton Manning's imminent departure from the Colts seems to extend beyond the run-of-the-mill sports event. After all, when was the last time NPR carried an NFL free agency story?

So without further ado, here is my list of the top ten Peyton Manning moments in Indy.

10. September 6, 1998. Manning throws his first NFL touchdown to Marvin Harrison in a game at Seattle. The first of many, to Marvin and overall.

9. October 6, 2003. The Colts rally from a  35-14 deficit with just four minutes left in the game to win on Monday night in Tampa Bay. In those days, my job required a 2:30 AM wake up call, so I went to bed with the Colts trailing 21-0, and couldn't believe my eyes when I read the recap the next morning. In terms of deficit and time remaining, I believe it is still the greatest comeback in NFL history.

8. October 5, 2008. Another amazing comeback, this time against the Houston Texans. The Colts put up 17 points in just 2:10. (Due deference paid to the defense.) And oh yeah, they did almost the same thing, against the same team, in 2009.

7. December 26, 2010. Manning runs a bootleg for a first down against the Raiders. Not exactly the prettiest thing on turf, but considering where the season was at that point, this was a thing of beauty. You know how sometimes a defense guesses the play based on what the other team has been doing the whole game? In this play, the Raiders guessed based on what Manning had done the past decade. And they bit on the fake hard.

6. December 27, 2004. Manning throws his 49th TD of the season, breaking Dan Marino's single-season record. This video compiles all 49 TDs that season:

5. Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison. There were times this just didn't seem fair. The pair holds the NFL record for most touchdowns at 112. Seriously, this was some sweet stuff.

4. September 21, 2009. Statisticians may prove me wrong with a quick Google search, but I believe this may have been the most efficient game a quarterback has played in NFL history. Despite just having the ball less than 15 minutes the entire game thanks to a defense that couldn't get off the field, Manning carries the Colts to a 27-23 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football. Just one of my personal favorite Manning moments.

3. November 15, 2009. The Colts beat the Patriots 35-34, completing a 17-point comeback. It will be remembered for Bill Belichick's infamous fourth-and-one call, but that call was made in part because of the tremendous amount of respect - even fear - the Patriots' coach has for No. 18. Check out the final drive of the game here:

2. Super Bowl. The one that got the monkey off the back. Super Bowl XLI capped a relatively improbable playoff run for the Colts, and Manning won MVP honors for the game. Ironically, Peyton didn't have his best statistical game that night, nor were any of the playoff games that year particularly impressive (with one exception). But his ability to manage a game and get his team in a position to be successful was on ultimate display during the run.

1. 2007 AFC Championship. Yes, this ranks higher than the Super Bowl win. For Manning to exorcise the playoff futility demons, nothing but an 18-point comeback against the nemesis New England Patriots would suffice. Early in the game, when Manning threw a pick-six to dig the Colts a 21-3 hole, I remember thinking that this would always be the outcome versus New England. A few hours later, I was jumping like a fool in my living room. It didn't matter that the Chicago Bears were the opponent in two weeks. (Though for the record, I was supremely confident the Colts would handle them as well.) The catharsis felt by beating New England in this game was felt by an entire city and nation of fans. For me, it is my ultimate Manning moment.

At the end of the day, sports is sports and the sun will rise regardless of what color jersey a man wears on Sunday afternoons. Still, unless you lived in Indianapolis or Indiana during Manning's career here, you can't quite understand the impact he had, even beyond sports. His charity work, well-documented as it is, probably still doesn't get the publicity it deserves. And it isn't a stretch to say that Manning's success ultimately led to the Super Bowl being played in Indy this year, which boosted the city to elite status in the eyes of even the most hardened detractors.

All of which makes Manning's departure difficult to swallow for reasons beyond wins and losses. But we all knew this day was coming. I think a lot of the disappointment Colts fans feel comes from the fact Manning was never given a proper send-off. His last time on the field as a Colt was a playoff loss to the New York Jets. It was unthinkable at the time that it would be the last time we'd see him wearing a horseshoe on his helmet. It an ending woefully unfit for a guy that has given so much on and off the field.


You feel me?



AF

Kids these days

I'm one of the lucky ones.

Most people won't see it coming. They'll look back one day and wonder when it happened. They'll have a moment of clarity and self-realization and say something like, "I'm not sure when it happened, but..."

And that's too bad. Because I will be able to pinpoint exactly when I turned old.

It was 5:07 PM, Monday, 6 February 2012. At that moment, I took to Twitter to remark on an incredibly annoying pattern in the Tweets, Facebook status updates, and other written communication among the younger set.

It's like the visual equivalent of cats scratching a chalkboard. With dentist drills. Playing Kenny G on bagpipes. And it manifests itself in something like this:

"Hey yallllll gone tannninnggggggg!!!"?

I mean, what on earth is that? When did it become hip to type things out in such a way the reader thinks you're straddling an electric fence? 

This for me was the straw that broke the young camel's back. I've watched with growing consternation as young people (and those too old to admit it) "(Kept) Up with the Kardashians" and became "Beliebers," but figured they were momentary lapses in judgment, not wholesale indictments on American society. But it's clear we've reached a point of no return as a civilization when even our most fundamental mode of communication is treated this way. In the distant future, I half-expect aliens to study our ancient way of life and conclude the wheels started coming off the wagon with the influx of some parasitic people group who unwittingly unglued all we built because they couldn't speak a language.

Maybe this stupid pattern can be traced to an actual, vocalized speech pattern called "vocal fry." If you don't know what that is, you're at least likely to have heard it. (That is, if you've ever heard an interview with a Kardashian or Britney Spears.) It's maybe best described as a "creaky" vocal characteristic common among young women. And aside from being annoying, it can actually be dangerous.

At the least, vocal fry and what I'll call "typing fry" seem to be rooted in the same problem: a clear disregard or misunderstanding among the younger set for how they are portraying themselves. We can probably find it evidenced elsewhere, too, from pants pulled down to mid-buttock (I thought we left that in the 90s?) to a general lack of appreciation for good music. Seriously, don't get me started on Bieber, Pitbull, and dozens of others out there.

I'm only half-serious about all this, of course. The rational side of me understands that these things are cyclical. My parents probably wondered a lot about me, including why I insisted on keeping a poorly maintained goatee throughout much of high school and why my brother and I insisted that Stryper could credibly be called quality music. (Though any objective person would side with Tony and me.) However, I'm not sure this rational side will be easily found in seven years, when I have a teenager of my own.

As for that, I think I'm way ahead of the game with my recent discovery. No doubt friction will arise from 2018 - 2029, during which time I'll have at least one teenager under my roof. And that's ok. When my daughters ask when it is I became uncool, I won't have to wallow in self-reflective nothingness. No, I'll have it documented for posterity, and I plan to share the time and date with them if they inquire. After all, I'm one of the lucky ones who know.


You feel me?



AF

[Stuff] Michiana Says in Winter

Watch this, then tell us what we missed in the comments!

You feel me?

AF

Feeling Christmas

Maybe it's just me, but lately I find Christendom lacking in its ability to dramatically convey the gravity of the Nativity story. That's not to say the well-meaning church plays and musicals aren't good in their own right; but often they fail to bring a unique perspective to the story, a freshness that ideally would be there each year.

'Tis the season? Via

I freely allow that I may not be looking in the right places. And when more and more stories like this one and this one appear this time of year, frankly, you question whether many people even understand what the season is about, much less are able to share it with others. At the least, it makes one urgently seek a fresh perspective, no matter the source.

All of which may help to explain why the two pieces that have most impacted me this Christmas season don't come from the church at all. That fact alone may make some people uncomfortable. But if the season is about "good news for all the people," then perhaps anyone is capable of understanding and re-telling the substance of that news.

Because ultimately, what moves man about the Christmas story is not the historicity of the events - the census, the manger, etc. That is not to say it's unimportant for those events to be factually accurate. It is, and I believe they are. But few are stirred to their core by a history book. It is the implication of the events that boggles the mind and draws our hearts to a different place.

I've never been a theologian. But to me, the Nativity is best encapsulated by two states of man that hopefully are never foreign: the joy of gift-giving, and reconciliation. The following two pieces are two of the best I've seen at conveying those feelings.

The first is an advertisement for a retailer in the UK, the second a music video from a group called The Killers. I don't say anything in posting them other than that they show feelings. I'm not attempting to ascribe to God all the characterstics of a child, for example, nor am I holding up The Killers as a paragon of right-living. For me, each of them offer a unique viewpoint of the Christmas story.

Without further ado:

You feel me?

AF