As I sit down to my laptop to write this post, I am acutely aware that this will be the final post I write and publish in Blogspot. Beginning with Monday's news cycle, The Rational Middle will be broadcasting from its new address at www.therationalmiddle.com. This move comes just three weeks short of the one year anniversary of the RM. I think it fitting that the final post comes as an acknowledgement of Memorial Day; that I have spent the last 49 weeks posting on a free site is a testament to the country I am proud to call my native home.
The Rational Middle has been read by 516 people in 41 states and 22 foreign countries. Through its publication, I have had the privileged of sharing my politics, beliefs, and experiences with more people than I ever dreamed possible. I have never been restricted in what I could post, and have never had my content removed or blocked. I have written often of freedoms and liberty in the RM, and I have done so as a voice of experience. The ability to write a blog, read a blog, or ignore a blog is a gift; it was enshrined in our Constitution and has been paid for in blood.
Memorial Day is nothing less than the acknowledgment of the true and enduring cost of freedom. Since 1776, 1,195,485 Americans have died for our liberties. That number has almost certainly gone up since you started reading this post. Since 1776, 1,468,196 Americans have sustained wounds in the transaction of our liberties. That number has also changed since you began reading this post. Just about 8% of our population are veterans, and I can tell you that those among that special class who did not count among the wounded, count surely among the changed.
This is a holiday that gives the other 92% the chance to give thanks to the best of us. Everything we know and love, and everything we love to hate, is possible because this nation has been able to chart her own course. Guided by her citizens, and unencumbered by any controlling external force, the American democracy is the gold standard; America's veterans, both living and fallen, are her standard-bearers.
Honor them...
Sunday, May 30, 2010
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"I have never been restricted in what I could post, and have never had my content removed or blocked."
ReplyDeleteI have. But only on 2 sites, one based on that sites owner and the other at the interference of that same person. Capisce? :-)
I served 68/70. I managed to avoid Viet Nam by the uniqueness of my M.O.S. only. And my worst injury was a couple of whuppings sustained in fist fights and some severe hangovers! But it was still scary times. Ironic that our sacrifices secured this freedom for some people who really aren't necessarily entitled to it. And turn it against those of us who carried the water for them.
Off to a couple of Cemeteries to honor some of the best people I have known. I've enjoyed your blog and your thorough commentary. And I have enjoyed the liberty to respond without worry of having my comments arbitrarily censored or deleted.
See ya' at the new site.