Just Say Why

Harold Estes
by
David Schlecht

The Republican party is up their old tricks, exploiting our great veterans for their political gain. Shame on them. I got this in my email today:

WW II Battleship sailor tells Obama to shape up or ship out !

This venerable and much honored WW II vet is well known in Hawaii for his seventy-plus years of service to patriotic organizations and causes all over the country. A humble man without a political bone in his body, he has never spoken out before about a government official, until now.

He dictated this letter to a friend, signed it and mailed it to the president.

Dear President Obama,

My name is Harold Estes, approaching 95 on December 13 of this year.  People meeting me for the first time don’t believe my age because I remain wrinkle free and pretty much mentally alert.
…

I am amazed, angry and determined not to see my country die before I do, but you seem hell bent not to grant me that wish.

I can’t figure out what country you are the president of.

You fly around the world telling our friends and enemies despicable lies like:
” We’re no longer a Christian nation”
” America is arrogant” – (Your wife even
announced to the world,”America is mean-
spirited. ” Please tell her to try preaching
that nonsense to 23 generations of our
war dead buried all over the globe who
died for no other reason than to free a
whole lot of strangers from tyranny and
hopelessness.)

I’d say shame on the both of you, but I don’t think you like America, nor do I see an ounce of gratefulness in anything you do, for the obvious gifts this country has given you.  To be without shame or gratefulness is a dangerous thing for a man sitting in the White House.

After 9/11 you said,” America hasn’t lived up to her ideals.”

Which ones did you mean? Was it the notion of personal liberty that 11,000 farmers and shopkeepers died for to win independence from the British?  Or maybe the ideal that no man should be a slave to another man, that 500,000 men died for in the Civil War?  I hope you didn’t mean the ideal 470,000 fathers, brothers, husbands, and a lot of fellas I knew personally died for in WWII, because we felt real strongly about not letting any nation push us around, because we stand for freedom.

I don’t think you mean the ideal that says equality is better than discrimination.  You know the one that a whole lot of white people understood when they helped to get you elected.

Take a little advice from a very old geezer, young man.

Shape up and start acting like an American.  If you don’t, I’ll do what I can to see you get shipped out of that fancy rental on Pennsylvania Avenue.  You were elected to lead not to bow, apologize and kiss the hands of murderers and corrupt leaders who still treat their people like slaves.

And just who do you think you are telling the American people not to jump to conclusions and condemn that Muslim major who killed 13 of his fellow soldiers and wounded dozens more. You mean you don’t want us to do what you did when that white cop used force to subdue that black college professor in Massachusetts, who was putting up a fight?  You don’t mind offending the police calling them stupid but you don’t want us to offend Muslim fanatics by calling them what they are, terrorists.

One more thing.  I realize you never served in the military and never had to defend your country with your life, but you’re the Commander-in-Chief now, son.  Do your job.  When your battle-hardened field General asks you for 40,000 more troops to complete the mission, give them to him.  But if you’re not in this fight to win, then get out.  The life of one American soldier is not worth the best political strategy you’re thinking of.

You could be our greatest president because you face the greatest challenge ever presented to any president.

You’re not going to restore American greatness by bringing back our bloated economy.  That’s not our greatest threat.  Losing the heart and soul of who we are as Americans is our big fight now.

And I sure as hell don’t want to think my president is the enemy in this final battle.

Sincerely,
Harold B. Estes

When a 95 year old hero of the “the Greatest Generation” stands up and speaks out like this, I think we owe it to him to send his words to as many Americans as we can. Please pass it on.

How very sad to see an American political party trying to make political points by exploiting the delusions of this poor older veteran, and then they have the audacity to ask us to forward their lies. Such immoral political parties should be banned.

Hopefully, soon, if we can fix health care, he may be able to afford the medicines he needs to step back into reality.

Where does one start when there are so many misconceptions, deceptions, and outright lies? How about at the top?

1. America is not and has never been a Christian nation. It was founded to be a nation of all or even no religion. How many times do you see Christ or the Bible referenced in the US constitution? Never. Wonder why? Even a grade school graduate knows this to be a fact. Why are there people lying to us about this and asking us to forward emails about it?

2. If you don’t think America is mean spirited, you haven’t been paying attention. That is primarily what Fox new is. This is so obvious that no one could really miss the fact.

3. Imagine being so deluded to think Americans would believe that a man from a poor single parent family doesn’t feel gratitude. He has expressed gratitude repeatedly. Turn off Fox news and wake up.

4. It’s nice to have a president acting like a president rather than a war criminal. The majority of America are glad to have Obama representing us. Anything is better than the past eight years. Many US presidents have been diplomatic enough to show respect for the customs of visiting dignitary (like bowing). Where was the outrage when Bush was out there holding hands and kissing Saudi kings and princes on the mouth? Remember Saudi Arabia? The country where the 9/11 terrorists came from?

5. America is obviously not living up to our usual standards when so many people are so weak and frightened by terrorists that any Muslim in the news turns into the next terror plot. We are not all afraid of our shadows and there’s no reason to demand that our leader be so weak. “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”

6. Yes, please bring back the economies we had after the last Great Depression. Bring back the New Deal, the committees that oversee the excesses of the banks and the criminality of the insurance industry. Please bring back the bigger more effective government. Our country has fallen apart because people have been listening to the “smaller government” fools. How do you think we got in this mess?

7.And finally, any president that just takes whatever his appointed generals tell him should be immediately impeached. Bush, you know, the one who never served even though he was enlisted? AWOL? He replaced the generals he didn’t like in order to hear what he wanted. Look what a mess that has created. Two more Vietnams and despised around the world. America is lucky Obama knows better and questions his generals. If you’ve ever been in the military, you know that generals advance their careers during wars, not during peace so of course they prescribe more war.

There is so much more wrong with this rant but I’m tired.