Monthly Archives: June 2015

I think I live in Mayberry

I live in a place where kids still play outside and neighbors still talk to each other. I can ask any random neighbor for a favor and have no worries. I have to be careful when I’m driving home to make sure I don’t run into a child on a bike. From what I hear this is not what the average person in America experiences in this day and age.

I live on a US Army base, in fact it’s a mega base (aka a huge base). It’s a small city, we have two grocery stores (commissaries) and two stores for general merchandise (PX) and seven convenience stores (Shoppettes). There are a number of schools on base and a hospital, I really don’t have to leave base if I don’t feel like it. We even have a a post office, library and bowling ally. There are places to eat, and play right here.

I think the reason we all respect each other, for the most part is that everyone on base understands what its like when a loved one is deployed, hurt or just can’t talk about work. I hear the planes from the flight line and the guns from the ranges. To me these sounds are normal and are the sounds of freedom. The noise may occasionally drown out the television but it’s worth it. I feel very safe on base, to the point i have fallen asleep (unintentionally) with my doors unlocked and when I awoke everything was just fine. My neighbors know and look out for my cats.  The grocery store even takes your groceries out the your car for you, try finding that service in most places these days. I am truly blessed to enjoy such an environment.

I wish there were more places like this left in this country, I find it very sad that more people don’t have the same experiences I do. Yes, I move every few years but the military is like a family. Know we don’t all know each other but, when one of us needs help we all chip in.

I think America would be a much better place if there were more places like this and more people could experience what I have by being an Army wife. I’m issuing a challenge to each and every person out there to try the following:

  • Say hi to a neighbor
  • Take your kids out to play, yes tear them away from the gadgets for a while
  • Help a neighbor carry in their groceries
  • Sit outside once in a while, you never know who you’ll meet
  • Talk to a member of the local police, just to say Hi

Just try it you never know what you’ll start.

Why I bought a “Confederate” flag today.

First I’d say I didn’t  buy a “Confederate Flag” I bought the battle flag of General Robert E. Lee’s Northern Virginia Navy. I bought a 38 inch square flag, not a rectangle. IMG_0282Now that you know what flag I bought let me explain what I was thinking.

  • Soldiers fought and died for this flag.
    • I don’t care if you agree with why they were fighting.
    • Has everyone agreed with every fight fought under the Flag of the United States?
      • No, Vietnam, The War in Iraq come to mind.
  • I don’t see it as a symbol of racism or hatred, but part of our history.
  • I wont be flying the flag, it will most likely take up residence with other flags I’ve collected over the years.
    • Yes, I collect flags, most of them are US flags, but not exclusively.
  • I see attempts at banning this flag as a step down the slippery slope towards censorship.
    • We as a nation seem to be afraid to take a stand: i.e. when the movie American Sniper was not shown or nearly not shown on campuses because a few hundred students were offended by it.
    • Freedom of speech is a right. There is no right not to be offended, or guarantee of the intelligence of the speaker.
    • If they can pressure businesses to stop selling this whats next?
      • Will we start banning or burning books that someone finds offensive and drive them off the shelves?
        • My favorite living author Brad Thor has death threats against him for a book he wrote: The Last Patriot.
        • He writes fiction, or as he prefers to call it faction. As he has said (paraphrasing here) His goal is to take the reader on a white knuckle thrill ride, if you learn something along the way that’s even better.
        • Brad Thor is a master at weaving facts and fiction together that you have to use a search engine to dissect where one ends and the other begins. (Yes, I’ve done this with his books.)
        • Should his bestselling books be banned because they offend some people?
        • No!
      • Will people start trying to control what clothing is acceptable? (ISIS???)
        •  Can the elder ladies of the neighborhood get together and have mini skirts pulled off store shelves?
        • I may never wear a mini skirt, but if that’s your style have at it.

So in short I chose to exercise my freedom of speech through expression. I was asked if I wanted an amendment protecting my beloved American flag from being burned.

As much as it pains me to see the flag burned in protest NO! That’s taking away freedom of speech, it takes no courage to stand up for speech you agree with, they true measure of freedom of speech is protecting speech that is NOT popular.

So while the Stars and Bars may never hang on the walls of my home, I’m glad I bought it.

As to whether it should be part of a state flag or be flown over any particular capital or building that’s for the residents of that region to decide. I’m not a legal resident of any of the states in question.