A life of privilege - part II

As most of you have probably guessed, I am a big fan of the HBO mini-series "Band of Brothers."  I am currently reading the book by the historian Stephen Ambrose on which the series was based.  The book and mini-series tells the story of Easy Company (E company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division) from boot camp all the way through the end of World War II. 


The men of Easy Company parachuted into Normandy on D-Day. There is a passage in the book that seems relevant to the ongoing discussions in our country today.  In this case, the passage talks about a letter that First Lieutenant Thomas Meehan (the commanding officer of Easy Company) wrote his wife Anne a few days before D-Day (May 26, 1944 to be exact - recall that D-Day was on June 6, 1944):


"We're fortunate in being Americans.  At least we don't step on the underdog.  I wonder if that's because there are no 'Americans' - only a stew of immigrants - or if it's because the earth from which we exist has been so kind to us and our forefathers..."


He goes on to write:


"And for each of us who wants to live in happiness and give happiness, there's another different sort of person wanting to take it away... We know how to win wars.  We must learn now to win peace...If I have a son, I don't want him to go through this again, but I want him powerful enough that no one will be fool enough to touch him.  He and America should be strong as hell and kind as Christ."


Lt. Meehan never made it to Normandy.  His plane and all of the paratroopers it carried was hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashed into the countryside.  There were no survivors.  But the points that he made in one of the last letters he wrote to his wife are poignant and provide lessons for us, even today.


1.  With the notable exception of the Native Americans, all of us are descended from individuals who weren't born here originally.  We are all immigrants, in a manner of speaking.  The anti-immigration sentiments we here today have no place in America.


2.  Our diversity is what has made us strong.  America has been called "the melting pot" - we are a blend of different racial and ethnic groups, gender, sexual orientation, and religious beliefs.  That is what makes us so special.  That is what makes us American.


3.  What defines us as Americans is that we stand up for what's right.  We stand up for the oppressed.  We stand up for those who can't.  We have gone to war - our citizens, from all walks of life and background, have been willing to give their lives for those who can't stand up for themselves.  That has been what we have always done, that's what makes us Americans, and that's what we will continue to do in the days, weeks, months, and years to come.