Quote Originally Posted by slapout9 View Post
Mike, one of the benefits of getting old is....well there ain't any they lied, but I was trying to explain to a younger person about being an American. So back in the old days I explained:Before your were turned loose in the world (out of high school) you had to complete a course called AVC orAmericanism vs. Communism(notice it was called Americanism not Capitalism!,we was good back then). It was a semester long course and you received either a complete or incomplete no grade was issued. You just had to hear what it was to be an American and what would be required of you.

The instructor was always a coach and the coach was also either a WW2 or Korean war veteran. Of course they made them stop teaching it in the 70's and we (USA) have been going down hill ever since. The point of my rambing is I couldn't think of anything better for you to do than to be a coach and a high school teacher. 15,16,17 year olds desperately need role models. Role models that stand for something other than how much money you can make in the shortest amount of time by hitting a ball or knocking somebody down or making a recording of the filthiest language known to man and calling it music. And then whine like babies when they find that rights can only exist when they are connected to responsibilities.You could give them some " proper schoolin"

All the way,Sir
Airborne, Slap. I really like the Americanism idea. Teaching what it means to be a good citizen, which is not simply about one's rights but also one's responsibilities.

Actually, this is kind of what we’ve been exploring with the whole “Clear, Mulch, and Grow,” philosophy, and it is why I keep writing.

The phrase was coined by my wife inadvertently while she was joking about my purpose in the post-military life while I was in between careers. We bought a house with about an acre of rough brush that needed clearing, and we wanted a garden and other stuff.

Given that many of us spent so much time trying to “Clear, Hold, and Build” other villages in far off lands, her phrase is pretty profound for veterans coming home from war and trying to heal.

So, perhaps, for now, many folks can just concentrate on being a good husband/wife, father/mother, neighbor, and citizen. I’m very excited to see how the returning vets take their energy back into their communities.