Navy SEAL awarded Medal of Honor

Navy SEAL Monsoor was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor today.  Most of the major media/news outlets are running brief stories on this, but as BlackFive.net notes, few if any have fully delved into PO2 Monsoor’s story.  And by that, I mean his STORY -- who he is, not just what he did on 29 SEP 06.

The story: it’s a familiar one, told repeatedly since humans started donning uniforms, picking up weapons and killing each other: a guy who put his buddies before himself.  

No matter what’s happening on Capitol Hill right now, a second of your time needs to be devoted to reading PO2 Monsoor’s story.  Considering what he did for a living for both you and me, I’d say that second of your time is mandatory.  There are no viable excuses; you do have the time.

No matter what your personal politics are on this "big thing" going on "over there"...if the story doesn’t tug at your heart just a bit, then you need to take a long, hard look in the mirror and assess what you see looking back at you.

There’s a lot of folks -- a lot of them just young kids -- out over there doing good things.  I don’t mean "good" in any kind of grandiose, idealistic, or political manner.

I’m just talking about people doing their jobs, taking care of their buddies, and taking care of the people they have daily contact with -- the sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, moms and dads (and I’m not talking about Americans here) that they have the opporunity to influence, protect, and maybe even save from a worse fate (far worse than anything you, me or anyone else will face here at home).

Try to keep these things (the simple things, the human things) in mind while the media, politicans, your friends, your teachers, that guy in line in front of you at Starbucks and everyone else spins and stretches and pulls this whole thing in every which direction for their respective agendas...

I’m not trying to tell you what to think, or that you need to lean towards one side of the grand debate or the other (and if I somehow come across as trying to persuade you to think one way or another, then ignore everything I’ve said here, because persuasion on the grand newspaper headline issues is neither my intent nor my privilege).  

I just want you to (for a moment) forget the politics.  Forget the spin and the talking heads and all that jazz.  Just look at the people.  

And take a moment to think about them.  That’s it.

(I apologize for hitting the preacher button...y’all know what’s important to me)

EXCERPT FROM THE BLACKFIVE BLOG (QUOTING ANOTHER BLOGGER):

"..On the rostrum, all three [wounded] SEALs whose lives Mike personally saved hobbled up together to thank Michael and his family for their very existence and to show their family’s gratitude for sparing them the grief that Michael’s family is now experiencing..."