This election season we have heard over and over again, how a certain presidential candidate spent over five years of his life in a North Vietnamese prison. We have heard, time and time again, how brave and courageous he was, and how he was tortured and refused medical treatment by his captors, the Viet Cong. We heard about how he gave up his own freedom when it was offered, all so that he could suffer with his fellow American prisoners of war. That was courageous, and no doubt a certain presidential candidate deserves all the accolades that he has gotten. Senator, thank you for your service. I mean that.
But Senator (you know the but was coming, so don't trip), with all due respect, A-merry-ca has done alright by you, don't you think? This country we love so much has given you two of the things it cherishes most: blonds and money. Yes Senator, not only do you have the blond, but she came with lots and lots of money. That's one hundred million ways we have said thank you senator, and I think you deserve every penny of it.....
Now Senator, I know of some other men who have spent some time in prisons that they didn't deserve to be in as well. In fact, there are quite a few of them. One poor guy, Walter Swift, did 26 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Now I know he wasn't tortured like you senator, and I am sure the conditions he was under were much better than what you had over there in the Hanoi Hilton. But 26 years of state time in Michigan? Hmmmm, let me see now; 26 years as opposed to five. I don't know, that kind of evens it out a little, don't you think? The thing is, and here is the irony of it all: You were fighting the Vietnamese to protect us from Communism, you were fighting for our A-merry-can ideals, our A-merry-can way of life and everything we stand for. And yet people like poor Mr. Swift keep ending up being victims of an imperfect system of laws which those ideals you were fighting for, created. Unfortunately for Mr. Swift, he doesn't have the pedigree like you do senator. You are the son of a four star admiral... Hell, you are the grandson of a four star admiral as well. You went to prep schools and the Naval Academy, you are an A-merry-can hero. Mr Swift's ancestors were slaves. So he was not given a heroes homecoming when he walked out of The Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in Detroit. And he sure as hell will not eventually end up being something as prestigious as a senior senator from one of these divided states; succeeding a man like the the famous (or infamous) Barry Goldwater.
"My incarceration of 26 years was just that - my personal adversity,... And to harbor any ill feelings toward anyone because of it would not only cheapen me as an individual, but it would put a remarkable blemish upon the excellent work and the struggle of these people who labored so hard on my behalf."
Well said Mr. Swift. A-merry-ca owes you as well. Unfortunately, all we can give you is your freedom back. It's not much but at least you live in a country where you can be free. I think you are supposed to thank a certain presidential candidate for that.
0 Comments