Guest Column: 'A New Kind of Battle'

A New Kind of Battle

By Rebekah Rast

Today marks the 235th anniversary of the start of the Revolutionary War. In the Battle of Lexington and Concord the first shots rang out between British and American soldiers, starting America’s fight for freedom.

The soldiers who fought for America during the Revolutionary War are no different than the soldiers who fought in World War II, Vietnam, Korean, Iraq, Afghanistan, or any other war that had the nation’s involvement. They all fought for America; to protect her liberties and freedoms for everyone.

Many soldiers enter the military for different reasons, but when they leave they are changed with a deeper understanding and love of America. They are proud to say they served the country and preserved the peoples’ freedom. As America faces a trying time here at home, some veterans are especially concerned about where the country is headed. What is becoming of this nation they worked so hard to secure and keep peaceful for all generations?

Some that fought in the Cold War are seeing a similarity between the Soviet policies then to some of the current U.S. government policies.

"I started serving in the military during the Cold War where our enemy was the Soviet Communist bloc. Now what we're seeing is a lot of policies coming out of the White House and coming out of Congress similar to what we were fighting back in the 1980s, and it's frustrating. It makes me nervous," says Damon Nelson, a Senior Airman in U.S. Air Force who fought in the Gulf War.

Others fear America is losing its leadership and power as a sovereign nation.

"I'm very scared for my children and my grandchildren," says Ted Anderson, a retired Lt. Colonel with the U.S. Army. "I am afraid that by the time they have reached their maturity we may in fact not be a dominant world leader or power that we are now. I don't know if we’ll even be in the top 3 or 5. That's how frightened I am."

To some, it seems today's government policies are slowly becoming the enemy.

"I'm a strong believer in small government," Anderson says. I believe less government is better. I am not someone that you can talk to and convince that we need more government in our lives to make us better citizens. As things stand now I am a bit worried about where we're headed, whether it's our perception around the world as a leader or whether it's the fact that our economy is owned by former enemies of this country. I believe that our standing in the world has significantly decreased and it has nothing to do with the previous administration, it has to do with the fact that we are slowly but surely regressing in every other category, whether it is public education, or whether it is just basic economic principles like borrowing and so forth. It's kind of scary."

As we have witnessed this past week, millions of Americans, under the banner of the TEA Party movement, feel the same way as these American heroes. Soldiers take an oath to protect America. They stand up for what they believe in and fight for what is right.

"I took an oath when I was 17 years old to support and defend the Constitution. The oath doesn't stop because I took the uniform off," says Kurt Osuch, a retired Lt. Colonel in the Marine Corps.

Patriots Day reminds Americans of the sacrifices veterans and those currently serving in our military have made. It is citizen’s responsibility to step up and take leadership in today’s government.

"We are all proud of what these soldiers have done for us," says Bill Wilson, President of Americans for Limited Government (ALG). "It is our responsibility to continue the fight and step into the ballot boxes and change the direction of our government, so that these sacrifices will not have been made in vain."

Rebekah Rast is a contributing editor to Americans for Limited Government News Bureau.