Heroes, by Larry Usoff

Heroes, by Larry Usoff

          The other day I watched a movie about Charles Lindbergh.  It struck me, as I watched, that he was an American, and he was a hero.  We have had many heroes in the 238 years, in the life time of my country.  You cannot go through a day without seeing something that was brought to light by an American...and speaking of light, we have Thomas Edison.   If you glance up at the blue sky you might see a silver airplane and, unless I'm mistaken, Americans were the first in powered, successful flight.  That would be the brothers Wright, from Ohio.  Although the powered automobile was first introduced in Germany by Carl Benz, it was an American, Henry Ford, that made the automobile a permanent part of America.  Someone could argue that some of the people that I consider heroes might have had some odd thoughts when it came to politics, and that's all well and good.  This country was founded on a difference of opinion about politics.

          America has been fortunate in one respect…whenever, in the past, the country has been in danger militarily, economically, even morally, a hero has come forward to help save it.  From George Washington to George Patton, when duty called, they answered.   Who will answer the call now, when our country is in such danger from within, from the very top?  Is there a hero, or several, that will answer the call to duty now?  I keep saying for America to wake up, but is it?

The papers are splattered with the latest gossip about sports figures, or who’s having a baby…out of wedlock.   What sort of person can call themselves an American who can forget about Benghazi, or the complete disregard for the rule of law which is now running rampant through the nation?

          Where is my hero, the one man or woman that can right the ship of state, and keep it from foundering?  Do we have any heroes left?  Of course we do, but they are becoming less and less visible.  There is a systematic decimation of my country going on and, other than writing and talking about it, my hands are tied.

Perhaps there is a hero still left, one person to whom duty, honor, country, still come before their personal lives.  We have had many brave Americans who went to war because their country needed them…and people like them are needed now.  One of my heroes was a Navy Lieutenant, who, when his ship was sunk, helped his shipmates to shore, even while he suffered a back injury.  You know who it was, don’t you?  John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who could have been one of the great ones.

          World War Two saw many of our top movie stars in the service of their country, and I don’t mean just making films for the troops.  We had major celebrities in harm’s way, and they were proud to do it.  Pat Tillman, who could

have stayed home, made lots of money, and been safe…instead chose to enlist, go to Afghanistan and fight for his country.  He died there.   Maybe this is just an old man wanting to preserve the America in which he grew up, and maybe this is just the last gasp for America…but I hope it isn’t.   No matter how many times it’s said, America is the land of the free because of the brave, that’s something that should not be forgotten. 

          Old men talk about the past because they have no future, and young men talk about the future because they have no past.  This was told to me many, many years ago and it’s only in the last few years that I’ve come to truly understand what that means.   It was my privilege to live in what was known as the greatest country in the world…the United States of America.  We led the world in this and that, we made this and that and made it better.  We pioneered, we progressed, we fed and protected the world.  What a wonderful country it was…and now…what?  Shall this noble experiment, as one person called us, disappear under some tinhorn dictator, or wannabe tyrant?  I sincerely hope not.

          I’ll close for now. I’m tired and my head aches from thinking…but don’t let that stop YOU from thinking.