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SHAPE UP AND START ACTING LIKE AN AMERICAN |
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Written by Harold Estes
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Thursday, 28 January 2010 |
Dear President Obama,
My name is Harold Estes, I turned 95 on December 13 of last year. People
meeting me for the first time don't believe my age because I remain wrinkle
free and pretty much mentally alert.
I enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1934 and served proudly before, during, and
after WW II retiring as a Master Chief Bos'n Mate. Now I live in a "rest
home" located on the western end of Pearl Harbor,
allowing me to keep alive the memories of 23 years of service to my country.
One of the benefits of my age, perhaps the only one, is to speak my mind,
blunt and direct even to the head man. So here goes.
I am amazed, angry and determined not to see my country die before I do, but
you seem hell bent not to grant me that wish.
I can't figure out what country you are the president of. You fly around the
world telling our friends and enemies despicable lies like: " We're no
longer a Christian nation," and "America
is arrogant."
Your wife even announced to the world, "America
is mean-spirited." Please tell her to try preaching that nonsense to generations
of our war dead buried all over the globe who died for no other reason than to
free a whole lot of strangers from tyranny and hopelessness.
I'd say shame on the both of you, but I don't think you like America, nor do
I see an ounce of gratefulness in anything you do, for the obvious gifts this
country has given you. To be without shame or gratefulness is a dangerous thing
for a man sitting in the White House.
After 9/11 you said," America
hasn't lived up to her ideals." Which
ones did you mean?
Was it the notion of personal liberty that 11,000 farmers and shopkeepers
died for to win independence from the British?
Or maybe the ideal that no man should be a slave to another man, that
500,000 men died for in the Civil War?
I hope you didn't mean the ideal 470,000 fathers, brothers, husbands, and a
lot of fellas I knew personally died for in WWII, because we felt real strongly
about not letting any nation push us around, because we stand for freedom.
I don't think you mean the ideal that says equality is better than
discrimination. You know the one that a whole lot of white people understood
when they helped to get you elected.
Take a little advice from a very old geezer, young man.
Shape up and start acting like an
American. If you don't, I'll do what I can to see you get shipped out of
that fancy rental on Pennsylvania Avenue.
You were elected to lead not to bow, apologize, and kiss the hands of murderers
and corrupt leaders who still treat their people like slaves.
And just who do you think you are
telling the American people not to jump to conclusions and condemn that Moslem
major who killed 13 of his fellow soldiers and wounded dozens more?
You mean you don't want us to do what you did when that white cop used force
to subdue that black college professor in Massachusetts
, who was putting up a fight? You don't mind offending the police calling them
stupid but you don't want us to offend Moslem fanatics by calling them what
they are, terrorists.
One more thing. I realize you never served in the military and never had to
defend your country with your life, but you're the Commander-in-Chief now, son.
Do your job. But if you're not in
this fight to win, then get out. The life of one American soldier is not worth
the best political strategy you're thinking of.
You could be our greatest president because you face the greatest challenge
ever presented to any president.
You're not going to restore American greatness by bringing back our bloated
economy. That's not our greatest threat. Losing the heart and soul of who we
are as Americans is our big fight now. And I sure as hell don't want to think
my president is the enemy in this final battle.
Sincerely,
Harold B. Estes
Note: Mr. Estes' name appears on the battleship Missouri
that resides in Pearl Harbor as a permanent memorial. The
Navsource
Naval History website states:
"A tribute ceremony for retired Chief Boatswain's Mate
Harold B. Estes was held at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
on November 17, 2004. More
than 200 guests paid tribute to Mr. Estes, who after retiring from the Navy in
1955, has received numerous awards from the Secretary of the Navy for public
service and involvement in the Sea Services. Mr. Estes is also known for
helping to bring the Missouri
(BB-63) and Bowfin (SS-287) to Pearl Harbor as
floating museums."
The Surface Navy Association (SNA), Pearl Harbor
chapter, holds an award ceremony and recognition luncheon annually in Hawaii.
One of the featured honors given is the "Chief Boatswain's Mate Harold Estes
Leadership Award," which recognizes a chief petty officer who has demonstrated
superior leadership while assigned to a Pearl Harbor based surface Navy ship. The
award is named after the author of this letter to Mr. Obama.
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