INTERESTING ... WHO'S THE REAL PATRIOT?

After hearing President John F. Kennedy's challenge to, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country," a young African-American gave up his student deferment, left college, and voluntarily joined the Marines.

Keep in mind that he did so at a time when he and his family could not be seated or fed in restaurants across the American south. Yet, he chose to abandon an educational opportunity that was not always available to African-Americans to serve his country. Here's his story, as told in the Chicago Tribune:

"In 1963, this man, having completed his two years of service in the Marines, volunteered again to become a Navy corpsman. (They provide medical assistance to the Marines as well as to Navy personnel.)

The man did so well in corpsman school that he was the valedictorian and became a cardiopulmonary technician. Not surprisingly, he was assigned to the Navy's premier medical facility, Bethesda Naval Hospital, as a member of the commander in chief's medical team, and helped care for President Lyndon B. Johnson after his 1966 surgery. For his service on the team, which he left in 1967, the White House awarded him three letters of commendation ...

... While this young man was serving six years on active duty, Vice President Dick Cheney, who was born the same year as the Marine/sailor, received five deferments, four for being an undergraduate and graduate student and one for being a prospective father. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, both five years younger than the African-American youth, used their student deferments to stay in college until 1968. Both then avoided going on active duty through family connections."

The article continues by asking, "Who is the real patriot? The young man who interrupted his studies to serve his country for six years or our three political leaders who beat the system? Are the patriots the people who actually sacrifice something or those who merely talk about their love of the country?"


This is a good question. We'll discuss it this Saturday.

- Mark

P.S. For those of you who haven't already figured it out, I'll let you know who the Navy corpsman was during the program [it's Rev. Jeremiah Wright]