We Were on the Same Team

   One of my hobbies is to listen to speeches on You Tube. One of my favourite ones is Barack Obama's eulogy of the late Senator John McCain. Think what you may of Barack Obama, he is an excellent orator and his speeches well worth watching or reading.
   As today is Memorial Day and since Senator MCCain was a veteran and well as a senator, I'd like to pick out some pieces of the eulogy that I think we should all apply to our lives today.
   He started out by pointing out the many differences he and McCain had. They were from different generations, different types of families and different political parties. You could say that they were almost opposites of each other. He spoke of times when he and McCain would have private conversations in the Oval office. The discussed a range of topics like family and politics. They still disagreed on many things but as Obama said, "We laughed with each other. And we learned from each other."
   What he said next, to me, is the most important part of his eulogy. "we never doubted the other man's sincerity or the other man's patriotism,or that when all was said and done we were on the same team. We never doubted that we were on the same team." This is important. "We never doubted that we were on the same team." Despite their differences these two men both believed that the United States is a country of opportunity. They saw their positions in government as an opportunity to be keeper of that ideal at home and to promote the cause of freedom and opportunity abraid.
   This is an attitude that we could use today. We have different backgrounds, are different races and hold different beliefs. We are in different economic classes, live in different parts of the country and are at various levels of education. We all have one thing in common. We live in the United States of America. We are here because we or some ancestor of ours (excepting Native Americans) came here to escape persecution or to make a better life than what could be had in their country of origin. We want our citizens to have a good education, to be safe, to have opportunities to contribute to our society and to have a clean place to live. We want our children to be safe in their schools. Like John McCain and Barack Obama, we have similarities despite our differences.
  Unlike them we are divided. We constantly needle, insult and sometimes commit violence against those we deem to be different. We do not believe that we are all on the same team. We constantly question the patriotism and sincerity of those with whom we disagree. We don't even talk to our "enemies" much less learn from them.
   This is not what John McCain or any other veteran fought for. They went overseas because they believed their country was in peril and needed to be defended. They fought because others do not have the freedoms that we have. They fought so that the rest of us could live in a land where we can go as far as we are able to go.
   We have days that we set aside to honor those who have fallen in battle, those who fought and returned and those who are currently serving in our Armed Forces. Along with the usual picnics, parties and other gatherings we should consider following the example of John McCain and Barack Obama and remember that we are on the same team.

For Mr. Warren, who came back not as nature made him, but as war left him...

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