My Duty as an Airman and Veteran

I am thanked far too often for my service in the military. Perhaps that doesn't apply to all veterans, but there was nothing heroic about my enlistment or the time I spent in the Air Force. If the truth is told, I joined the Air Force because I was causing too many problems at home. I'm not the only person who enlisted for that reason.

Everyone who joins the military must swear to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic, and we took that oath just before they shipped us off to basic military training. From there, I was sent to the 62nd Civil Engineering Squadron, and more specifically to the heating shop. Though I liked the work and the people at my main job, my favorite duty was as a member of the Honor Guard.

White Society is to Blame for Black Cops Beating Tyre Nichols to Death

I imagine there was more than just a sigh of relief from many white people when five Memphis police officers were charged with murder for the beating death of an unarmed Black man. The sigh of relief was because all five of the former police officers charged with the murder to Tyre Nichols are themselves Black men. Some people may believe that the five former officers were charged with murder because they are Black men, but the police chief who fired them and had them arrested them for murder is a Black woman. 

It may seem like a difficult challenge to untangle how all these Black people treated one another and to blame it on white society, but it is easier to understand if some terms are clarified. 

Is Blind Patriotism Patriotic?

I remember back in my Toastmasters’ days, we began meetings with the pledge of allegiance. We always said it, but a group of us younger members thought it a bit hokey. It became a topic of discussion for the group.

One of the older members named Nina Tucker scolded us. She said we were spoiled brats who never spent a day wondering if we would be able to say it the next day. She recalled that experience as a younger person during WWII. It was compelling, to say the least.