I don’t usually talk about politics in my videos, and I’m not going to start today. But what happened at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., hit very close to home for me.
My father was a United States Marine who served in the Pacific during World War II. He participated in the cleanup at Pearl Harbor, served during the First Battle of Guam, and spent his final days in the service in Okinawa.
My mother was a Navy nurse. Her responsibility was carrying wounded servicemen as they were taken off the ships. Many died in her arms.
So when I see the World War II Memorial being vandalized, I don’t just see stone and foundations being defaced. I think about my parents. I think about their generation, the Greatest Generation. I think about the thousands of Americans who never came home.
We live in a country where we are free to disagree. We can criticize our government. We can protest. We can vote for different candidates and hold completely different political beliefs.
Those freedoms are part of what those men and women fought and died to protect.
But surely, we can disagree without destroying the places that honor their sacrifice.
No government is perfect. No political party is perfect. No president is perfect. And certainly, none of us, even as individuals, are perfect.
But we still have so much to be grateful for in this country, in America.
When we deface a memorial dedicated to Americans who sacrificed everything for this country, a line has been crossed, in my opinion.
For me, patriotism isn’t Republican or Democrat or independent. It doesn’t depend upon who occupies the White House.
No matter who our president is, I want that president to succeed because I want America to succeed. And wherever our servicemen and women are sent around the world, I will support them and pray for their safe returns.
We can disagree passionately and still respect one another. We can demand change and still love our country. And we can exercise the freedoms we have been given without dishonoring the people who sacrificed so much to give them to us.
I remain proud to be an American.
I hope you’ll join me in remembering that some things should always be bigger than politics.
To Mom and Dad.
