I was shopping for a card for my mom when I saw one that showed a picture of a girl standing at the edge of a cliff. The caption read, “All my friends jumped off a cliff today.” And on the inside, it read, “But I didn’t. Thanks for the advice, Mom!” I bought the card….but then changed it to read the opposite: “None of my friends jumped off a cliff today. BUT I DID! Thanks, Mom!”
Where others hold their parachutes, I stow my wings…
When we allow fear to control us, we question everything. We hold ourselves back, we hide from challenging moments, we step back when we should step forward. In short, we stop living. And if we aren’t living, then why are we here? Why are we on this great Earth? What is our purpose? I have been thinking a lot about the people who have been killed by senseless violence and asking myself – if they could speak to us, those angel warriors, what would they say?
I believe they would tell us to dream, and dream big.
And our military personnel, who risk life and limb for our citizens, why do they do it? What would our fallen tell us if they could? I don’t believe the Americans we’ve lost would tell any of us to merely stay alive so we can count our days.
I believe they defend our nation so that we can have the opportunity to have the courage to live out our dreams.
This nation was imagined in the dreams of our founding fathers and carried through history by the most daring of our people – like a relay team passing the baton. We cannot allow acts of terrorism and senseless violence to strip us of our willingness to live, and to do so boldly. For if we do, we have already given them everything; we’ve already lost. Our angels deserve better. They expect better from us. We owe them this honor and our respect.
“The nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” – Elmer Davis, Former Director of the U.S. Office of War Information