The Truth

BY: DR. FOREST LEWIS

The purpose of today's column is more of a venting  process--rather than being about global warming, socialists democrats, IslamoFascists, etc. However, some of you may be able to extract from my writing something of a didactic nature: at least, that is my hope.

As many of you already know by now, I am a proud U.S. Marine Veteran. I served my country in Vietnam--and received a number of medals--along with an honorable discharge. I can assure you, my medals are genuine--unlike those received by John Kohn-Kerry and John Murtha. Their medals have been called into question my some. For the record, I am not claiming "Hero Status" like Kohn-Kerry and Murtha.

In my day, those being discharged from the military, weren't advised of their benefits--under the G.I. Bill Of Rights. The Marine Corps gave you the obligatory, "Shipping Over Talk," that is to say, the Commanding Officer tried to sell you on the idea to re-enlist. When that failed, you simply continued to count down the days until you were discharged. After being discharged, I had to report to a Marine unit, where I was advised that I was still in the Marine Corps--but on the inactive reserve list.

I was never once advised of my benefits through the Veterans Administration. Therefore, I didn't know that Uncle Sam would only pay for four years of college. Further, I was in the dark as to how long my G.I. benefits would last. Hell, I thought they would last "Forever." After all, I had placed my life on the line for my country. At the very least, I figured that America could give me a lifetime of benefits.

You can well imagine the look on my face when I decided to go to college. I was told--too late--your benefits have expired. I thought, "Thanks A Lot Uncle Sam." I was like a lot of young men who had spent 2-4 years in the military. I was confused, and I had no idea what I wanted to do with the rest of my life following my discharge. It took time to sort out the direction I wanted to take. Unbeknownst to me, Uncle Sam wasn't about to wait for me to make up my mind.

So, I had to make it through undergraduate school, and graduate school(s) with loans from guess who? The Federal Government. Nice, huh?

Okay, fast forward to the year 2007. Since I am a veteran I thought, why not let the government help me with my medical/dental? That's the least this government could do, I thought. Receiving medical coverage from the government is one of the niceties for those of us who served our country.

Allow me to digress for a moment. When a Marine is discharged, he is handed his DD214 papers. These papers spell out in detail, my occupation, what medals I accrued, my entry/discharge date, etc.

My wife somehow misplaced these valuable papers. Not a problem I thought. In order to circumvent all of the red tape, I decided to write to my U.S. Senator, and my local Congresswoman. Big mistake. My Senator is Hillary Rodham-Clinton. My Congresswoman is Louise Slaughter. Are the names familiar to you?

Suffice it to say, neither Ms. Clinton nor Ms. Slaughter had the decency to respond to my letters. Boy, was I angry. I used my "justified anger" to take pen in hand and write both of these legislators a "respectful," stinging letter of rebuke. I reminded both Clinton and Slaughter that not only am I a voter, I am a veteran as well. I suggested that they both should hang their heads in shame for "Blowing Me Off."

Ironically, this morning I received a telephone call from Slaughter's office. The woman on the other end was "arrogant as all get out." She never once said, "Good morning," or greeted me with, "Dr. Lewis, I Represent Congresswoman Louise Slaughter." Instead, she quietly chided me, by reminding me that the Congresswoman had received my letter, and that a letter was sent out on my behalf, inquiring about my DD214 papers.

I thoght, "Where Was My Letter From Congresswoman Slaughter's Office?" She didn't even have enough respect to write, informing me of the action that she had taken. This from a woman who claims to "Support The Troops."

No, I am not on active duty. However, the way I see it, "ALL VETERANS ARE DUE RESPECT FROM NOT ONLY OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS, BUT EVERY AMERICAN CITIZEN WHO DID NOT WEAR THIS NATION'S UNIFORM." 

It is people like me who guarded this country while a lot of "Fat Ass" politicians slept peacefully at night. It is people like me who bled for this country. Not the Hillary Clintons, nor the Louise Slaughters of this nation. So, you can see why I was angry.

Writing to these two charlatans was very therapetic. It is my opinion that more Americans should try this approach. However, "Always Be Respectful." You may not like the person that you are writing to, but respect the office that they hold. I know, the democrats are not like that: however, we need not stoop to their level.

Because I am computer literate, I was able to retrieve my DD214 papers. However, this lead me to wonder how many of my fellow vets have been left out in the cold by these two "Shameless Democrats?"

Once I received my DD214 papers, I called my local veterans agency. Since I had all of my other documents in order, I needed to be scheduled for an orientation meeting.

I don't know about you, but I am damn tired to speaking to foreigners who can't speak english. Wouldn't you know it, I got this Hispanic fellow at the VA on the line. The guy had this thick accent. The interesting thing about our dialogue was that this moron thought that he was speaking "perfect english."

Not only could he not speak english, he found it difficult to process a limited fund of information. Suffice it to say that my encounter with this fellow did not go well.

Why is it that companies feel compelled to hire people like this, and place them in direct contact with the public? I doubt seriously if I traveled to Mexico or Honduras and was lucky enough to land a job, that my employer would place me in direct contact with the Spanish speaking public. So, why do idiotic American employers do this?

I asked to speak with someone who spoke english. Bad move. This new guy became defensive almost immediately. He explained that the person that I had just spoken with, "Was An American." And he added, "So Am I."

All of this nonsense from people who are supposed to be helping veterans, who come to their agencies with a plethora of problems--both physical and psychological. Hey, "Thanks A Lot Uncle Sam."

When I moved from the south to the north, I was twelve years old. I was only a few months shy of my thirteenth birthday. I had a very heavy southern accent. I was the brunt of a number of hurtful jokes.

In order to fit in, I worked hard on my diction--and and enunciation. After my tour in the Marine Corps, I became a broadcast journalist.

People are surprised to hear that I am from the south. Why am I telling you all of this? Well, it is because America is an english speaking country. Not Spanish, Arabic, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean: America "IS AN ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRY."

However, we have turned into a tower of babel, all because of political correctness. People are no longer interested in assimilating in this country. We have Americans encouraging foreigners to establish their own little enclaves in their communities; and continue to speak their native tongue(s).

We have ended up with a mess, ladies and gentlemen. And we can thank the political correctness wackos.

I am sick and tired of having to converse with someone with a heavy foreign accent in my country. I am sick and tired of having to say, "What Did You Say?" I am sick and tired of having to put up with grief from these idiots who think it is "cool" to cling to their culture; and at the same time tear down the American culture. I am sick and tired of groups like the A.C.L.U. who provide aide and comfort to different groups who have no desire to become part of this great melting pot, known as the United States of America. 

There are times that I feel that I am in a third world country. Come to think of it, America is a third world country in some parts of this once great land. All one has to do is look to Miami, Florida. Need I say more?

Many of us are made to feel guilty if we don't say the right things to some of these groups who feel they are entitled to come to our country today, and take, take, take: and not give back anything in return.

Please don't give me any of that xenophobia crap. Try that on the guilt ridden. I have no guilt for expressing how I feel. Would to God that more Americans stood up and said what was on their minds. But alas, they have allowed the politically correct fanatics to control their tongues.

America, we are losing our country. With each passing day, we are losing our precious culture and heritage. To those who would say that I am an extremist, I would suggest that you remove the blinders from your eyes.

We are not only fighting the IslamoFascists, and the socialists democrats: we are also fighting for the survival of our culture.

What can you do? Stay in informed. By this I mean read your local paper. Become a critical reader. In other words, do not take the words of a reporters because he/she said something in a column. You draw your own conclusions. Do not just listen to Brian Williams or Katie Couric. Become a critical thinker. By doing this, I will guarantee you that you will be able to cut through their bias reporting. If you have to, take a college course on critical reading and thinking. I promise you that you will be glad that you did.

Lastly, hold your elected officials' feet to the fire. Let them know the issues that are dear to you. If they can't deliver for you, toss their tails out: and keep tossing them out, until you get someone in office who really cares about the direction our country is headed in.

FRIENDS OF "THE TRUTH"

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