“Duty, Honor, Country” — those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn. — Douglas MacArthur

My Take – We all have to have our anchors.  Maybe it’s your religion, or your family, or your values.  Whatever it is, you must have something that helps you on your feet when all else is dragging you down.  When the world is crumbling around you, no matter the circumstances, remembering that your duty still needs to be done, that your honor must be safeguarded, and that your country and all that entails are counting on you can motivate you in ways that no other thought can.  Find your anchor and use it to find a way to succeed.

It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived. — George Patton

My Take – It is no accident that attacks on our country by foreigners in the last 200 years are rare enough that we can name them off the top of our head.  It is no coincidence that even in the darkest hour of our political fortunes that we are able to openly and loudly criticize and agitate against our opponents.  The security of our shores and of our freedoms didn’t just emerge from the mists of antiquity.

All of these things are made possible because young men and women are willing to give up an easy life in order to work hard, sometimes under unimaginable conditions, and possibly come home in a box or not at all.

We mark this day to remember the day that the most horrific war that men had ever seen, up to that time, ended.  But wars never really end, and there will always be a need for a man to go on patrol or a woman to stand on the parapet.  We are fortunate that even in this age of comfort and privilege, there are still people willing to stand outside the light of the fire, watching and protecting.

To those who serve and those who have served, thank you.

When a thing is done, it’s done. Don’t look back. Look forward to your next objective. — George Marshall

My Take – It’s been long enough.  If we haven’t figured out what went wrong by now, we deserve the next whipping we take.  It’s time to start thinking about the future.  In the next few months, the government has to find a way to pass a budget, and we have to work through our representatives to try to staunch the bleeding on that front.  In the near term, we have to find a way to blunt the blow from Obamacare and survive the economic shock of hundreds of companies laying off thousands of employees.

Next we need to look toward the mid-term elections.  Who is going to run, who is going to get supported, and who is going to get jettisoned?  What will we find important?  Will we be smart enough to keep the dolts who are running from opening their pieholes about mommy parts and the gays?  We have to work toward keeping enough of a voice in the Senate that we can head off any Supreme Court nominees that would destroy the progress of the past decade and any treaties that Obama signs that will infringe on our liberty.

And finally, we need to find a way to minimize the damage of the next four years, and find a way to recapture not only the White House, but also the Senate.  We need to start recruiting and grooming people to run not only against the Democrats, but also against those Republicans who believe that the government is a lifelong gravy train.  We have to look for people who want to serve, not to be served, who look at the American people as more than a cash cow, and who know that government is a necessary evil, not a panacea for every problem we might encounter.

We have to let go of this defeat.  We should learn from it, use it as a bad example, but not dwell upon it and poison ourselves with the bile that has been spewed in the past few days.

A great people may be killed, but they cannot be intimidated. — Napoleon Bonaparte

My Take – Someone once told me that a war is not over until the losing side admits that it has lost.  If we do not allow temporary setbacks to keep us from trying once again, then we are not truly defeated.  Opponents can shriek at the top of their lungs, huff and puff about the dire consequences to us of continued resistance, and even make thinly veiled threats against our freedom, livelihoods, and lives, but until they find a way to destroy us, they have not won.  It is only when we no longer have the means and will to resist and thrive that we are defeated, and if we have the will to fight, we will find the means.