Last week, I became aware that the Palm Beach County School Board has removed Veterans Day from its list of observed holidays. In fact, it is not even mentioned on its
calender. Though I served not in the armed forces of these united States of America, my father did and my ancestry in this country's wars goes back to the secession from Great Britain. Lastly, two of my sons served in the army, one being deployed to Iraq two times, the other three. The last one was nearly killed about 1 1/2 years ago while leading a platoon of men on a dismounted patrol at night. He stepped on a land mine and threw him high into the air and removed his right arm and leg, causing him to bleed out. But for the Grace of God, and the skill of the medics and the sawbones in Baghdad, he would have died. In fact, I was told that a Chaplain was twice called to be ready to pray the prayer for the dead. He survived minus his right arm just below the elbow and his right leg about 6-7 inches above the knee. He was recently discharged from WRAMC in July and is now visiting his uncle, a former marine, in California.
So, I say that to say I take huge exception to the School Board dropping even the mention of Veterans Day from its calender, let alone dropping it as a holiday. Essentially, it is a
slap in the face of all living veterans in this country, telling them that
their sacrifices are not worth honouring, that it did not count, counted for nothing. On their list of holidays, not even Christmas or Easter is listed by name. They are called Winter holidays and Spring holiday. With the exception of CHRISTMAS and Easter, which is supposed to be a celebration of the birth and resurrection from the dead, of our Lord Jesus, nothing on their list is as important as Veterans Day. This is the day for the living veterans. Memorial Day is for the deceased veterans.
I am calling for anyone reading this to bring pressure to the school board to reinstate Veterans Day this year, not to wait for next year and to cast it in stone that this will never happen again. They are the school board and they CAN do this if properly motivated. Call anyone who may have some influence, email the school board or write letters to express your
outrage. Strong language is called for here, not words like sad or too bad. For this is an outrage than men like my son, his sacrifice, is unworthy of acknowledgement, of telling him THANK YOU FOR YOUR SACRIFICE, and to all those who went before him and those who will follow after him.
"
Poor is the nation that has no heroes, but beggared is the nation that has and forgets them." -- Unknown
Secondly, there is one particular Black County commissioner, a former State legislator and school teacher, Addie Green, who has become the very thing Black people used to claim they despised- a bigot. Remember when they used to speak in platitudes about prejudice and equality, treating everyone the same? Ever since the county went to the district method of electing officials - done JUST so they would have a Black official - she has done all she can only for Blacks and nothing for Whites. But worst of all is her constant verbal lashing of the police. A few years ago, in her capacity as commissioner, she publicly advocated all Black youth run from the police, if approached, to a lighted, crowded area so as to protect them from possible brutality. And, like an arrogant b***h, she held a press conference and, backed up by some of her cronies, she not only refused to back down and apologise to the police, who were there in force to protest her, but accused them of murder in the case of a Black boy who did just what she had advised. Afterwards, she said of them, "The only thing they left at home was the sheet." The boy was running from the cops in a car, driving with no license, on crowded school grounds. A cop on the scene shot at the car and killed him, thinking the boy might run over a crowd of school kids if he was not stopped.
Earlier this month, she again accused the cops of murder, in her capacity as an elected official. A Black boy, again but this time in a car which had been reported stolen, was trying to run over a cop while backing up and the cop shot and killed him. Bear in mind, these accusations are done in the press and always directed toward Whites, cops they may be.
This commissioner has no sense of honour else she would be ashamed of herself and, at the very least, offer to resign for conduct unbecoming of her office and becoming an embarrassment to the county. She has done this not and will be termed out of office. Even though I oppose this ideal of term limits, in her case I am glad for it.
One of the things that is most frustrating is that the local media will not bring her to task. It has become a given that if any White politician even gives the vaguest, most ambiguous hint of criticism of Blacks at anything and can be remotely thought of as racist, the press will pounce on him like a flea on a dog. Trent Lott comes to mind. The golfer "Fuzzy" Zoeller, Jimmy the Greek were also victimised this way.
It is wrong of the press to treat any elected official with kid gloves, regardless of race, ethnicity or religion. It is more wrong for any elected official, whether a councilman from a small town of 100 to a commissioner of a large county of 1.5 million to say things that comes from the streets. The dignity of the office precludes repugnant behaviour, whether it is corruption or crass talk. Such behaviour would not be tolerated from the Governor of any State, it should not be tolerated from her.
