The scars born of neglect never fade, even after they’re fully healed.

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Scattered throughout the rows of upright stones within Ft. Leavenworth National Cemetery, there are a handful of stones lying flat. Found in the shade of an ancient tree, bearing a scar that has forever altered its shape.

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Lives have been irreparably impacted. Families of fallen HEROES…
Negligence. Blatant disrespect. Did they not know that their INACTION would have such a lasting impact? If they did know… would they have even cared?

And yet, the scars remain. These lives, forever entangled. The future, directly connected to our PAST… life, rising up out of the grave.

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Was it a filibuster that caused all this? Maybe a failed reconciliation package? Another war… an economic downturn? Maybe we just FORGOT… maybe we just wanted to forget. Years of entanglements in deadly foreign wars… I guess Congress just wanted to spend more money on flappers and speakeasies that session… ‘Let the dead lie, we have elections to win.’

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But that could never happen TODAY. Our National Cemeteries are watched, manicured, and maintained. 24/7. 365. They are HONORED and respected. Proudly we remember… not like back THEN. They didn’t know what we know now… we’ve learned that lesson. We’ve seen the damage that can come… Korea… Vietnam… Afghanistan… Iraq…

Did we learn that lesson or did we simply forget? Our grandparents learned that lesson.
Unfortunately… it seems we did not.

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https://apnews.com/article/us-army-veteran-immigration-raid-53cb22251a01599a0c4d1a8d5650d050

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And now we’re raising our own generation of ignorance and neglect. Years from now, our grandchildren will inherit a more broken and chaotic world than the one that we were given. More corruption, less trust in institutions. More debt… more war. More working hours, less acknowledgement and compensation at the end of the day.

Will they re-elect those who allowed this to happen… just as WE have done? Or will they see it for what it is and deny them another term…

Every ACT.
Every ORDER.

Every unconstitutional endeavor can be UNDONE… just as it was created.

With the stroke of a PEN.

Our future is not set in stone. Our trajectory can STILL CHANGE, but that path is up to US. At the ballot box. In this moment, everything is still possible. From the most destructive outcome to the most fortunate. WE are in control. Our VOTE. Our INACTION will be rewarded accordingly.

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CLARITY… above all else. Because that’s the one thing none of us have. What is the Will of the American People? Did our LAST election demonstrate that… what about the one before that?

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Politicians and elected officials make pronouncements based on polling data and election outcomes. In the last two Presidential elections alone, the polls and the outcomes didn’t match up. But then again… I can find a set of data points that can justify pretty much anything I want them to.

The only definitive polling takes place when we cast our ballot on Election Day. And even then, elected officials are able to read the tea leaves however they want them to read.

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The subtlety and nuance go far beyond small business vs. big gov’t. The question of whether our federal government should even exist is now front and center in the conversation. So now we’re forced to pick a side in the fight… do we side with the National Weather Service or do we side with the tornadoes.

We can make America Great again without destroying everything that made us great in the first place.

I think of it like this…

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Every idea, every concept. It’s all right there. Just offscreen. What is allowed to PASS through the lens, the framing of the shot… that’s where we find the problem. 

Is there something ELSE not being presented? Is there a BETTER WAY that we’ve missed… and that’s being generous. Is there something else that we’ve been denied access to… hidden behind some PAYWALL… available only for a select few to see.

Those concepts… those assets… they don’t just disappear. They’re still there, just offscreen. Waiting. For someday. When they are needed…

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‘With malice toward none and with charity for all…’ Yes, those are lofty rhetorical words, but they are also a prescription for our ills. We must repair that which is broken, but we must also seek to restore that which is good about this Nation. The path is not set in stone, but we all know the destination- a more perfect Union.

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Empires may rise and empires may fall. Our Constitution shall remain.

-JC