Small Minded Lilliputians

As we grow up, authoritative figures preach traits such as kindness and respect, and it seems as if it is second nature for us to understand that these are important, but there is always one that is slightly confusing. This so called virtue was usually labeled as “To-See-Far” and I always wondered what did that really mean? They obviously aren’t talking in the literal sense so, to me, it means two things that are closely correlated. One, that you are able to see the possible outcome of decisions that you make and can educated reactions based off of those reads, and second, you can see things from every point of view and from every aspect, so you fully understand the effect of the things you do. In the first voyage of Gulliver’s Travels, he meets 6 inch people called Lilliputians. The largest fault of the Lilliputians is that they can see the second definition; they can’t see the big picture. This drives out maybe the greatest figure that this race has ever encountered, Gulliver, and they lose the leverage they had over their enemies, the Blefuscudians. If we can’t see the bigger picture, whether it is in government, education, or just daily life, we will mess up the great opportunities that present themselves before us.

As the Lilliputian government compiled articles on all the accounts where Gulliver broke the law they failed to see what he has done for the Lilliputian people. The premiere example of this is when the Lilliputian palace is engulfed in flames. With quick think Gulliver urinates on the palace putting out the fire, but the Lilliputian authorities -- especially Skyresh Bolgolam -- fail to see the deed that he has done for them only think of him as disposing his waste on their sacred home of the Emperor. This is just one of the instances where the Lilliputians exhibit their lack of the ability to see the bigger picture. The second exhibit of the Lilliputians not being able to “see far” is the way they elect people of honor. Candidates do physical competitions to elect someone to a position where your mind is being constantly challenged and rivaled. High honor Lilliputians are then not fit for the roles that are to carry out, and as you may think the problems that arise are ones of epic proportions.

The United States of America understand, for the most part, on how to elect and place people into high responsibility roles. If you take a look at most of the successful people throughout history you will find that they were able to soak in the information around them, analyze it, and then make the decision that they believe is correct. In life, we have found that one that reasons will always outweigh the one who makes rash decisions and for that the politicians, the educators, and the leaders of the future should be taught this trait just as they are now. If we are blind to some of the options that are available, we will make decisions that could bring serious repercussions, and, government-wise, could send a country, even one of great prestige, back to a state of utter chaos.

Though Jonathon Swift did not tell the Reader about what happened to Lilliput, because he was not there, it is possible to make guesses on what may have taken place. First, I believe that it would start back slowly in the fact that in some tasks that were simple with Gulliver was now tedious and time consuming. Then that would eventually escalate to maybe the Lilliputians to be over taken during the time that they were rebuilding from the loss of Gulliver. All of this would occur just because they looked at the cons of Gulliver instead of the pros.

When we don’t look at every aspect of each situation we will end up making irrational decisions and karma may come back at tear you apart. Take time and look around you. Take each detail and lock it in your memory. Then, apply these details to whatever crisis you are dealing with and make the correct decision. This will help you avoid the problems which will bury you alive and you can be a successful individual in a confusing world. So now, as the teachers tell us to see far take their advice and stay true to it and help yourself and whoever else your working with become the leader that you were meant to be.

Depressing Hope

Author's Note:  After reading Fahrenheit 451 I was very disappointed with the ending. Throughout the book I loved it and then I personally thought that he messed up. In cause, I decided to explain why Ray Bradbury was wrong. In this piece I tried to show change in my fictional narrative and I also wanted to make it easy to relate to while still having a strong level of intellectuality. If you completely disagree with me, feel free to challenge what I said.

You are going to be great. Everything you have ever wanted in life will be placed at your feet. Then, time passes. You realize that you are just another leaf in the bush and your dreams shatter to the ground leaving you, alone, dripping with disappointment and embarrassment. Ray Bradbury is trying to get people to believe in hope at the end of Fahrenheit 451. The truth is, hope is a creation of the human mind for the mentally weak to grasp on to, and we must start living in the Now rather than making ridiculous expectations for our future.

Every child has dreams. Some want to be professional football players, others want to be rock stars. How many of these dreams actual come true? Their false hopes lead them to disappointment and once they learn that they can't just be whatever they want it is then when they become mentally mature. If you start worrying about what you are doing today maybe you do have a chance of doing good. Hope extinguishes the realization of having to do something in the present leading us to do nothing but wait for the world to fall in our hands.

Ray Bradbury had everything right going into the finale. Then he got it all wrong. Instead of Montag going off to live in the prairies with his hippie friends he should have either died alone or gone completely insane. He was hoping that he could bring back literature into a society that already marked it as taboo and turned their backs against it. Not only was it an impossible to task to complete, it was an impossible task just to stay on the fringe of sanity, any yet he managed to get out alive and sane. Being optimistic isn't always a good thing. Being filled with false thoughts isn't good for anyone and I don't think it should've been preached in Fahrenheit 451 .

If we give ourselves unrealistic goals our lives will be filled with disappointment which could end up in depression. If in fact you do end up depressed, my guess is that you're pretty far off from the original plan that you set before yourself. People need to worry about the present and not get caught up fantasizing about their futures. If it is meant to be, it will happen but that is only if you do what is needed today. Hope is the wrecking ball for our futures and we need to eliminate it as much as possible and enjoy what you have, while you have it.

Knowledge Through Fear

Author's Note: This essay was in response to how the quote "What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger." relates to Montag at the end of our last reading. For the opening I tried to do a fictional narrative and still add some text evidence because that has been some of my weak spots and I think I did an average job with that.

Fear. Angst. Frustration. Right, left, right, left. Your feet move swiftly across the gravel, weaving in and out of the thick trees, running for the haven without looking back. With each step strength, experience, confidence stream into your body acting as fuel in the chase of life and death. A slip, a fall, on the ground you moan. The darkness closes in and you start to go, along with all you've worked for, all you've gained. It falls to the floor and shatters to pieces, an impossible puzzle that you are left to fix, with only the knowledge that you have gained along the run. A philosopher in the world of robots, you are alone with no one to help you, yet with the fear there comes all that you have learned and it helps you start to make a dent in the monstrous challenge that lay before you. Montag and Faber, with only each other, they too try to pick up the pieces with the knowledge that they have learned and attempt to fit them together. It is in Fahrenheit 451 in which we learn that fear turns to knowledge and that fear is a necessity, or we would be lost in a world of mystery.

In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury teaches us many things throughout the text. One of the most striking things is that he puts an emphasis on how fear is one of the greatest teachers of all. With each mistake we learn to not do that anymore. With each crisis we figure out how to handle it, and once our faces are wrinkled with hardships it is then when we are all-knowing. If we run away from fear, we may be happy, but we won't know about the world around us. Embrace it, learn from it, because if you do not die from it, it will only make you stronger.

Montag experiences more fear than most of us can ever imagine. One against one hundred. An outcast against a society. With each day though, he rises above the society, for he has knowledge. His belief in literature and its capabilities gets him into trouble but comprehension of the world starts to overwhelm his formerly brain-washed mind. Understanding is what we really all strive for in Life and through Montag's struggles he gains it drop by drop.

"What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger." Friedrich Nietzsche understood how we should view Life. We should not cower away from it, but stand tall and bare the storm, for afterwards we will be better. We need fear in our lives, for we need knowledge and fear brings knowledge along with it. If we can stay strong, we can comprehend the trees and the birds that surround us, and do what the human species is intended to do. Live, the right way.

The Phoenix and the Turtle by William Shakespeare

About the Poem: The Phoenix and the Turtle  is an allegorical poem about the death of ideal love. When William Shakespeare wrote it was untitled until publishers gave it a name. The turtle in the title is actually a turtle dove, not the animal that has a shell. This poem has been considered one of Shakespeare's most obscure works and there have been many different interpretations of the poem's meaning. Also, this is not the whole version. Due to length and difficulty of poem I decided to cut it down to this portion of it.

Let the bird of loudest lay,̊

On the sole̊ Arabian tree,

Herald sad̊ and trumpet be,

To whose sound chaste wings obey.

But thou shrieking harbinger,

Foul precurrer ̊ of the fiend,

Augur of the fever's end,

To this troop come thou not near.

From this session interdict  ̊

Every fowl of tyrant wing

Save the eagle, feather'd king:

Keep the obsequy ̊ so strict.

Let the priest in surplice ̊ white

That defunctive ̊ music can,

Be the death-divining swan,

Lest the requiem lack his right.

And thou, treble-dated crow,

That thy sable ̊ gender mak'st

With the breath thou giv'st and tak'st,

'Mongst our mourners shalt thou go.

Here the anthem doth commence:—

Love and constancy is dead;

Phoenix and the turtle fled

In a mutual flame from hence.

So they loved, as love in twain

Had the essence but in one;

Two distincts, division none;

Number there in love was slain.

Hearts remote, yet not asunder;

Distance, and no space was seen

'Twixt the turtle and his queen:

But in them it were a wonder.

So between them love did shine,

That the turtle saw his right

Flaming in the phoenix' sight  ̊;

Either was the other's mine.

At the time Shakespeare wrote this people were getting very extravagant with their culture. Nature was a large part of their arts and everyday life during the time of Modern English. Shakespeare shows both the extravagance and nature in this poem. The way the language reads is over-the-top so it sounds sophisticated and exaggerated. For example, he once says " 'Mongst our mourners shalt thou go." The nature symbols are clear being that the poem is named after and birds are frequently referenced throughout the course of the poem. These are the two main signs of Modern England that are seen in the poem.

Veteran's Essay

Author's Note: This was my essay response to the prompt "Does Patriotism still matter?".

In America, we pride ourselves on our loyalty and love for our country. If we do not have any Patriotism, the United States of America isn’t the great country that all of our ancestors and soldiers have built it to be. We are raised to have Patriotism flow through our veins and it is as natural as the wind and sea. This country is fueled by Patriots and I believe that we will always have an endless supply of it as long as our country stays afloat.

Every day, every second of our day people dedicated to our beautiful country put their lives, everything that they have ever worked for on the line, just to maintain our freedom and try to get fellow countries the same. When you think about it, it is absolutely mind blowing that they would do that. That right there is real Patriotism that exists among us, and it really does matter.

Seeing those great Americans fills everyone around them with a sense of Patriotism too. When my great grandfather told stories to my family about serving in the war everyone was proud to be related to such a character, and then to think that there were thousands of other people like him serving our country was a wonderful feeling. Patriotism.

This country needs true Patriots to keep it special. We can find them in everyday people that just have an ever-burning love for red, white, and blue. We should cherish these people and make sure they know that what they are doing is helping this country and the pride of it. If we can all be true Patriots the U.S.A. will be stronger than ever and nothing, absolutely nothing, will break through our wall of love for the home of the brave.

The Power of Power

To have power is one thing, yet to use that trait effectively is something even greater. Not many people can obtain these attributes for an extended period of time or even at all, but when they do they will always exceed the limits set by the pioneers before them. In the novel Animal Farm, by George Orwell, many animals have power. Though they may come in different forms, they are still there. Examples of this are Snowball, Napoleon, and even Boxer the powerful horse. Unfortunately, only Snowball was able to do good with his, and he was eventually ridden out of his leadership. Supremacy is a rarity in today’s society, and needs to be used not in destructive ways, but in constructive manners which help the everyday life of the citizens.

In the Russian Revolution, leadership was changed repeatedly. First Czar Nicholas II was in control and then Trotsky was accompanied by Stalin in controlling Russia. Later Trotsky was eliminated from the system by his thought-to-be friend, Stalin. Yet, under these main figures other people had power, but they had the problem that lets Communism continue its dominance in the country, being that they can’t put their skills in effect to overturn Communism.

This scenario is exactly what happens in Animal Farm. Farmer Jones, who would represent Czar Nicholas II, owns and runs Manor Farm. Then, the animals of Manor Farm rebel, being led by Snowball and Napoleon. Eventually, the animals were found to be victorious and Snowball and Napoleon ran, what was now called Animal Farm, side by side. Later, in power’s usual fashion, Napoleon turns against Snowball and voids Snowball’s authority on the farm. This signifies the large-scale dispute Trotsky and Stalin engaged in.

Simply, dominance is something that is ever-changing and is quite unpredictable. It also comes in forms that you wouldn’t expect. For example, Boxer is the strongest horse in all of Animal Farm and nothing can even think of challenging his strength. What holds Boxer back is the intelligence aspect. Boxer doesn’t have one thought of his own and he just follows whatever the leader of the moment says. This is proven by one of his two famous sayings, “Napoleon is always right”. In cause of this, Boxer is as ineffective at rebelling against the corrupt Napoleon as a calculus lecture given to kindergarten students. So, Boxer represents the peasants of Russia who work all day and worship, cherish, and love every syllable that falls out of their leader’s propaganda-ridden mouth.

The peasant’s and Boxer’s unintelligence feed the Communist government and helps it prosper. Stalin being a smart dictator realized that this would happen and kept the Russian peasants from education. Therefore, they would never have the brain power to form a rebellion, let alone even think of one, so they just clasp on to the lies from the leaders that are eventually converted into facts.

George Orwell litters his writing with warnings to all the non-Communistic governments in a satirical form. Even though average farm animals, running a farm seems like an immature idea, it actually contains a deep intellectual level. Animal Farm is made to make us afraid of what happened in Russia to the point where we should never let this happen to our Democratic government. Also, due to the fact that I read carefully, I found some suggestions from George Orwell to keep this from happening, like getting an education and having thoughts of my own.

John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton once said that “Absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Animal Farm thoroughly shows us this throughout its course and many lessons can and need to be taken away from it. For those of us who can find the responsibility of power and authority among ourselves, we must learn this lesson of how to control our greed and use it in a way to help the people. Then, we will truly have what Karl Marx intended for, a fair society.

Catcher In The Rye

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Catcher In The Rye

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Tom's Childhood Decisions

When you are a child you must remember many things. These things may include a large array of thoughts or directions such as how to do long division, to always be a caring friend or even to let the dog out when he cries, but the most important thing to store away in your memory is to be who you are, for if you act as a phony as a child, you will end up one in your adulthood and you will not be happy. The decisions we make and ways we act when we are adolescents make up who we are no matter what. Whether you are one that inveigles others or you are a docile individual, it was all made up by experiences and decisions that occurred in your childhood. Tom Sawyer understands this quite well. He always makes the best of his childhood simply because of his fear of an adulthood of boredom. This will make Tom Sawyer an interesting person to be with and he will enjoy his life.

Tom’s fear is what made him leave to become a pirate. This is because he saw a glimpse of his future, and a life of routine and rules was not what Sawyer needed. He needed to be able to possess adventure and free will. Most importantly he needed fun, and if he kept on going with these exact routines he would grow up to be the average male. But Tom foresaw this crash course with daily boredom and successfully diverted the pain by making the decisions he did. He is now a wealthy child who won’t even need to get an occupation when he becomes old enough.

Not many people can do what Tom did, but when they do they are extremely happy with their life. They maintain sustaining memories of fond times and potentially even money. Of course, money is not the cure to sadness, but it definitely makes things easier. You may call one a fool for spending his life to do something adventurous or out of the ordinary, but you can’t call them a fool for spending their life doing something they love. And if they do succeed, open up your mind and believe that anything you dream of may come true if you are willing to do everything possible to get it.

Tom lived, in many people’s opinions, the right way, a way where he decided which road his life would take and how it would turn out. We as people must remember this and make our one chance at life the one we want. We must not get caught up with the daily routine, but live on our own spontaneous plans and wants, and by doing this we will not morph into some unwanted angist creature but into a frivolous person that we deserve and that the world deserves, too.

The ADVENTURES of Tom Sawyer

Adventure is an experience people long for. It causes some adrenaline components including excitement, danger, and sometimes even success. Isn’t that what people wish to do with their lives – something that is unique and something they will remember? Tom Sawyer definitely gets a large dose of this in his spontaneous life. Because of that, Tom enjoys life and its excitement that comes rushing on by. Simply, adventure is the thing that keeps us getting up in the morning.

Adventure is truly what keeps Tom going on a daily basis. Whenever he is without it he gets depressed and feels meaningless. Tom’s reason to leave his civilized life to become a pirate was because he felt like his life was a pain having to go to school and getting licked for wrong doings. Sawyer believed that life should be filled with joy, adventure, and free will and not of punishment, and when Tom, Huck, and Joe became pirates they fulfilled Tom’s dream and life was finally enjoyable.

Longings like this are usual with people across the globe. The cycle of an average person’s daily schedule often becomes dull and life seems like a task. At this point they call in for a life line and “spice up” their life even a little bit. The ways people do this may include vacations or activities outside their usual comfort zone, but either way it adds change and is wonderfully refreshing.

People need change in their lives and adventure is a beautiful way to make change happen. When you enjoy what you are doing you are overall a happier person, and with that the world will be a better place. Of course, we must keep our activities under control so it doesn’t turn negative, but still adventure is a great thing that is essential in most every human’s life.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Final Response

You begin as a juvenile child in a large, perplexing world. You think you know things about the world and what your future will hold, but truly you don’t. This is not uncommon though. Even Francie Nolan encounters this in her life.  This is why in everybody’s life they go through a many year quest from innocence to experience and the roads that take each person, to their own place, their own destiny, is what makes each person themselves.

Francie Nolan is a young girl growing up in a confusing world. Her questions are endless. She pleads to know things that she just couldn’t grasp at the stage in her life that she was at, but she keeps trying to learn and comprehend the things she sees as her life goes on. As she matures she starts to understand why things are so imperfect in life and that all she can do is try to cope with what faces her, while having flashes of exuberance along the way.

This is like many of our lives. Going from confusion to understanding is important in this world of ours. It is a long, drawn out journey, but definitely a needed one. People want to know the world with just the snap of their fingers, and want their questions and hardships to be the past, but I believe that one of the most important reasons of life is to learn the ways of the world and to develop into a better person, the type of person that is truly wise and helpful to the innocent ones in their life, so that they too then can become experienced and educate the young in their lives also. That truly is a spectacular aspect in life. It is such a powerful thing that it keeps the Circle of Life going perpetually.

The travel from innocence to experience is extremely important in life and while reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn it is obvious that Betty Smith grasps the situation impeccably. She expresses this process so everyone can relate. Myself being innocent, I can tell what the future may hold for me. It may not end up being as climactic for me, but it still will be memorable and life changing. That is guaranteed.

The road from innocence to experience is very important in life and you should not try to force yourself away from the path. It will be a long journey with its highs and lows but if you just go along on the ride you will be set out for a life of joy, wisdom, and pride, and you will get those traits because you are who you are and you should find self love in yourself no matter what obstacles face you.

Limits

You push and push to get to the next level but whatever you try seems to be a miserable failure. This happens so many times you just think that your just not fit to do this. Limits are a feared thing among society, almost taboo to think about, but it is an unavoidable obstacle in the giant game of Life.

The Nolan family wishes so much for money to pour in, but it just doesn’t happen. It seems it shouldn’t happen and won’t happen. Now, they are starting to get the epiphany that maybe the extra and even needed money won’t ever come. That maybe owning their own property is just a distant day dream. This is a problem that is fought with every day, by many people. The will power is there. There is no doubt in that, but the problem for them is that it is impossible to live a limit-free life, yet you can always try your hardest to get as close to that limit as possible. Because of this possibility, the Nolan family does try their hardest to get to their aspiration. They do this by pretending they're in the North Pole trying to survive terrible conditions, where it seems like a game to the young Neely and Francie, but as they grow up they see it is not far from the reality. They still struggle with the cold and with starvation from the lack of money being brought in by Katie's cleaning job and Johnny's shaky singing waiter job, and this is just the limits showing up yet again.

Limits are a sad part of life, but you never will be able to fully erase them from the world. Yes, limits are feared, but you just have to take what you have, and try to make the best of it, even if that is not very much.

Determination (and Partially Patience)

As you get knocked to the ground yet again, you are filled up with something special by the name of determination. This feeling, is the thing that says to you in times of doubt “Get up and try again, for you may succeed and finally be able to attain the glory that you have worked for persistently!”, and so you get up and push yourself even harder, until finally you reach the hallowed victory. Determination is the powerful thing that resides in us all, that makes somebody achieve great things. It is just up to the person to decide if they want to use it.

As Francie and Neely stand up to the immense tree, determination overwhelmes the two as they decide that it was time to do something spectacular to brighten up a beautiful day in a rough life. When they succeed, they are fulfilled with true happiness and pride. If this happens in life, it gets recognized and honored for it is such an important component in life, yet at time it can be quite arduous. This is because bringing up enough willpower and directing it to that sole thing is something that not everybody has the patience to do. I find that surprisingly pleasing that it is so, for if everybody could do the great things that one can do with a spark of determination, there would be no greatness among an individual. Everybody would just be average. That should truly be feared. To have your goal in life, to be just as good as everybody else. That is why I believe He created patience. So that we could rise above the status quo and be our own individual person.

Determination is a magnificent thing that each human being has, and when they use it correctly they comprise greatness. Also, it is a thing that each person needs to accomplish something with actual meaning. Then once they succeed they will have happiness, the most beautiful thing in life.

All Summer in a Day Response

Day after day you wish for sun, but you never get it. You struggle through each day with rain and darkness pounding down on you without ever a glimpse of sunlight. Still that is not all of your burdens, for your acquaintances are enemies. The seclusion you overwhelm yourself with takes over your life and you have nothing to run to for comfort except for the sun. This happens for so long that your peers just want to get rid of you. Therefore, if you isolate yourself you will miss life’s greatest experiences.


Margot’s biggest mistake is that she isolates herself from the world. Even though she is very upset about leaving Earth to the point where it is life and death, she shouldn’t be just standing by, as everything surges on. Margot should have accepted what she had and try to make the best of it. In result, she could have prevented herself from getting stuffed in a closet and missing the sun if she stopped being paint on the wall.

People in general have to stop segregating themselves from people if they don’t get their way, because the only way to get what you need is through other people and if you refuse to socialize with them you will get nothing. This is exactly what happens to Margot and look what happens to her. She gets stuck in a closet missing the best hour that one could have on the planet in seven whole years.

This why we must not hide ourselves to everybody, but open up, because then you can grow to your maximum potential, feeding of your associates, while having some of the greatest moments that life can offer.

Room Revisions

You sit in the front of the classroom as the monotone teacher gives an endless amount of examples. The brick wall behind him is a shade of the blandest color imaginable, and the hard plastic chair keeps you in one of the most uncomfortable positions possible. Because this presents you with pain, you wish you could just fall asleep and forget this torture. This is the daily life of a middle school student in the present day. So, we have to change the rooms to make them more interesting so our students get the best possible education available.




To help change the room, I would start with the floor. Instead of the boring old linoleum that is almost as dull science class, I would want smooth black and white tile. On each tile, students would write their favorite quote in multi-colored marker. This would personalize the room and add some life to the classroom. Then, under each pupils desk, there would be a piece of carpeting. The students would choose whatever color they want, and choose what kind of fabric. This would be a fun way to make your area a little bit more “your own”, and would also make the kids’ feet more comfortable.



The floor is a big part in making the room more interesting, but the walls can play a part in it, too. First off, the room would be divided into different sections for different activities. There would then be a variety of colors that correlate with each section. Then in that section, many shades of that color would be splashed on the in no particular pattern or design. The colors I would choose would be very soothing and would help kids relax. This would keep kids from getting worked up and nervous about a test or assignment, and result in better grades. This could be a major feature in the room.



Maybe most importantly, I would incorporate lots of technology into the room. This generation is one of technology. Therefore, if we incorporate laptops, iPod Touches, and other gizmos, kids will be enthralled and pay more attention to the lessons. Also, this would cut down on paper and help save the environment as well. This would be a wonderful way to help kids learn.

All of these things factor into a strong learning environment. We either let out students struggle and darken their futures or open doors for each child and let them grow to their fullest. I know which one I would choose.

Veteran's Essay

When one asks “When is the correct time to honor a veteran?” you may find many different answers. My answer to that question would be once they sign up. To have the dedication to a country so great, that you are willing to put you own life at risk to help that country is a big deal. Not to honor them the instant they sign up is preposterous.


Everybody has one chance in life to do things their way. It is common for a person to maybe pull back in the extremity of the things they do so they can enjoy the ride a little longer, but when somebody throws that all out on the line for a greater purpose, he should be honored.

Veterans are also role models for the future generations. I look up to my parents, grandparents, in more general words, my superiors. I want to be just like them, because they have such a great life or they live for the right reason. This is the case with veterans. Younger kids see these men going off and fighting for the safety of our country, and they want to do that too. This gives them inspiration to do well in their classes and to be a leader for their peers, and help them be an upstanding figure in society when they grow older too.

Really these men are our present and future. They are the bricks of our nation, and if we don’t have them we live in a dangerous environment. These are some of the most honorable men in our lives and when there are honorable people around you honor them. It is just absolute common sense. It shouldn’t matter how long you’ve been fighting, it should matter if you put your name on that list and kept you promise. Thank you veterans.