STANDING THE WATCH

      Over a million and a half soldiers have lost their lives since the founding of our nation. They were standing their watch, guarding and defending the nation, preserving the rights and principles of that nation. Millions of others were wounded doing the same thing. Their sacrifices while standing the watch need to be remembered and honored, whilst the civilians of the country also stand watch, doing their best to honor those rights, to insure that they continue to exist, in word and deed. That is our watch responsibility.
     Of late, we have shunted aside those duties of standing the watch. We have unilaterally decided to violate these rights, tried to change their function and application in extreme ways, akin to the government of 1984 or Brave New World. We have created an Animal Farm in real life, wherein the mouthing of the statement that all are equal before the law, is mocked by a corollary - that some are more equal than others.
     We have decided that these rights are limited, allowing some to spout words of hate, to encourage deeds of hate, even as we refuse others the same 'privilege'. This cannot be. We need to aspire to a time when these words of hate are not needed, are wiped clean out of the vocabulary, but until we are in that situation, all are allowed to speak, as disgusting as this might be. As dangerous as it is. As detestable as it is.
     It is easy to violate the principles of a country, make mockery of the rules of standing the watch, to rile people up, particularly when tensions are high, when uncertainty reigns, but much more difficult to watch the mouth and instead, work on the more difficult tasks of fixing the societal messes we have.
     For whom are we standing the watch? For others? Yes, but also for ourselves, for even as we protect the immigrant from being dragged from his home along with his 12 year old, we are protecting our rights, for rights are always being challenged and that damned bell can toll for us just as easily as it does for others. When we protect an immigrant, we are also protecting our own history, both as a nation and as a gathering of descendants of immigrants, for so we all are, and stop fooling ourselves, yourselves, when we say that all our ancestors came here legally. No, they did not. Some yes, and others no. Accept that fact and move on. Society has other needs and demands, and those standing the watch need help.
     Standing the watch means that yes, the old saw of "he ain't heavy; he's my brother" has got to be kept in the column of truth and reliability. We must, as civilian and soldier alike, remember that we are all Americans, native, naturalized and aspiring; we are all brothers of the same family - Americans. Stand the watch with all Americans.
     Deserting others in the face of need is nothing to be proud of. It does not speak well for the deserter, and that is what the advocates of hate, those who refuse to accept their assigned watch on the walls of civilization, are all about. All of them, right, left and in between. The words and pain of anti Semitism hurt just as much be they come from the left or right. The words and exhortations to hate, hate, hate, all those who are different from you, the brushes that tar all 'others' as dangerous, somehow lesser than 'us', that do not deserve to partake of our world, our rights, well, they are ugly, from right or left - but also protected by law up to a certain point. And no, it is not permissible for one side and not another, not allowed for one group but denied to another, condemned on one side but not the other.
     We have lost the rules, the pride, the righteousness that allowed us to stand the watch for so long. But now, those who are supposed to stand that watch for the nation are doing the very opposite. They speak of wiping out nations, of killing millions, as if one was talking of the best fly swatter to use on the pesky insects. They encourage the chants and the behavior of hate filled individuals who turn into that most dangerous thing - the mob. Those who refuse to accept the rules of standing the watch are dangerous to us all. No exceptions.
     Time for those of us who desire to keep our watch going, to keep it on the straight and narrow, to stand watch for not only our country but also for the world, well, we have a hard and onerous task ahead, but one which must be tackled head on and NOW! The walls of society, of civilization at its high points are beginning to crumble as fewer and fewer stand the watch.
     Let us honor those who have sacrificed much for the privilege and responsibility of standing the watch, soldier and civilian alike. The how, the why, is easy - stand by your fellow soldier on the watch, have his back. Share her alertness. Be kind. Be demanding. Be human!!!Not such a difficult thing to get, but awfully hard to put into action it seems. Too bad for us all.