Being an American-what makes the difference?

Not long ago I received an email that struck me as a thought provoking comment on what it means to be an American. It also goes to the heart of what Obama faction media puppets like Chris Matthews really hate about the American military- i.e., their moral allegiance to liberty and the Constitution meant to incorporate it.

I asked Gary Hallmark, the retired Naval Officer who sent me the email, for permission to share it with the readers of this blog, which he has given. As you read it ask yourself, Is this nation still made up of individuals who, like so many of our fellow citizens in uniform, not only swear allegiance to a "piece of paper", but are willing to die for the moral ideas it represents? I don't know the answer to that question. But soon and very soon we will find out.

Dear Mr. Keyes,
>
> As a retired Naval Officer, one of my assignments while serving on
> active duty was serving as a Military Observer with the United Nations
> in the Middle East. While serving in Egypt in such a capacity, I found
> myself in a conversation one day with a Danish Army Officer who also
> was serving as a Military Observer. The topic of the conversation was
> the United States of America and my loyalty to it. During the
> conversation, the Danish Army Officer stated to me that the rest of
> the world did not understand the United States. When I asked why, he
> explained that the United States was different. He stated that as a
> people we wanted to be liked, and since people in the rest of the
> world knew this, then the rest of the world was not going to like us;
> he stated that the rest of the world would respect us, yes, but “we
> will never like you.” When I asked him why he believed that, he asked
> me, “Gary, who did you swear an oath to?” I told him, “I did not swear
> an oath to anybody, but as a Officer in the United States Military, I
> had sworn an oath to the Constitution of the United States of America.”
>
> The Danish Army Officer replied that was the problem, that was what
> the world did not understand, how an individual or individuals could
> swear an oath to a piece of paper. He went on to explain that as a
> Danish Army Officer he had sworn an oath to his country and his
> countrymen. He went on to say other nations swear an oath to their
> king or to their nation, but “you swore an oath to a piece of paper.”
>
> I replied that the Constitution of the United States of America was
> not a piece of paper, but it was a representation of an ideal that
> incorporates the fundamental principles upon which our nation and its
> government were founded for the people, by the people, and of the
> people and that every military officer I knew was prepared to give
> their lives to defend it and the American people’s right of self-rule.
>
> The Danish Army Office then told me that was the point; that this
> nation is made up of individuals who not only swear to this “piece of
> paper,” but who are willing to die for that ideal; and it is an ideal
> that people leave their home countries for, and those that don’t, are
> envious of those who do so. He went on further and explained that as a
> Dane he could relate to other Danes because of their culture, language,
> heritage, but he said, “Americans are different.” I replied to him,
> “Yes, we are because we are united in freedom. Freedom of self-rule
> and freedom of self-determination, both of which are guaranteed by the
> Constitution of the United States.” His response, I will never forget,
> “And that is what we don’t understand and that is why the rest of the
> world envies the United States.”
>
> Mr. Keyes, during my tour with the United Nations, I was subjected to
> the type of conversation I described above more than once. The one
> above stands out in my memory because it was the first such
> conversation and it was the first time in all my travels that a
> non-citizen of the United States had admitted an envy of our great
> country and the ideal by which we live, an ideal embodied in the
> Constitution of the United States of America. Yes, certain people in
> this country have little to no respect for the Constitution of the
> United States, but the military does. I was a young officer in the
> military when Nixon resigned as President. I remember very well the
> steps the military took to ensure that no one attempted to use the
> military to interfere in what was taking place. Why? Because those
> military individuals then, just as the military individuals now, had
> sworn an oath /to support and defend the Constitution of the United
> States against all enemies, foreign and domestic./ May that always be
> the case.
>
> Respectfully,
> Richard G. Hallmark
>