I want you to close your eyes and picture
in your mind the soldier at
Valley Forge, as he holds his
musket in his bloody hands.

He stands barefoot in the snow,
starved from lack of food, wounded
from months of battle and emotionally
scarred from the eternity away
from his family surrounded by nothing
but death and carnage of war.

He stands tough, with fire in his
eyes and victory on his breath. He
looks at us now in anger and
disgust and tells us this...

I gave you a birthright of freedom
born in the Constitution and now
your children graduate too illiterate
to read it. I fought in the
snow barefoot to give you the freedom
to vote and you stay at home
because it rains.

I left my family destitute to give you
the freedom of speech and you
remain silent on critical issues,
because it might be bad for business.

I orphaned my children to give you
a government to serve you and it
has stolen democracy from the people.

It's the soldier not the reporter who gives
you the freedom of the press.

It's the soldier not the poet who
gives you the freedom of speech.

It's the soldier not the campus organizer
who allows you to demonstrate.

It's the soldier who salutes the flag,
serves the flag, whose coffin
is draped with the flag that allows
the protester to burn the flag!!!

"Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands.
Protect them as they
protect us. Bless them and their families
for the selfless acts they
perform for us in our time of need. Amen."