Patriotism that costs nothing.

If you watched Ken Burns' series "The War," you had to be impressed with the amount of sacrifice that given by the 16 million who served in the armed forces and the sacrifice of those who remained at home. Everyone was in the war. Recently, while at my father's LST reunion one of the men spoke to close out their final session. He said "We have been called the greatest generation. But I'll tell you the next generations seem to be doing pretty well for themselves." In other words, the country is continuing along a path that this former sailor felt gave honor to America. Fortunately for me, I can't really imagine their sacrifice. I did not see my friends blown into pieces, burned beyond recognition, or eaten by sharks. I cannot imagine it. They cannot forget it.

Yet I fear that this war, while added to the national debt, and while a tremendous burden to the families of the 3,800 dead and the 27,000 severely injured and their families, has not cost the common American anything. I feel it hasn't cost me anything. The stock market is at an all time high. My taxes can't even be raised to pay for it. "No new taxes." Not even a war bond drive. Ideology cannot be sacrificed while a Repub is in office. Let someone else pay the cost later.

I live in a community that is 80 to 85% Repub. They vote Repub. They talk Repub. They wave the flag. As I walk the dog in the mornings, we pass homes which vary in price from about $300,000 up to about $800,000. Pretty nice places. Every other place has a flag displayed and many have two or more flags unfurled. In the cluster home community there are, some have tiny driveways which won't completely accomodate the Ford 250 truck with the extra long bed that they drive, so it hangs out into the street. Why does this retiree drive this shiney new "boss" truck, wave a flag, call Clinton a draft dodger, John Kerry a traitor, and vote Repub? Why does he fear immigrants?

Are our lives guided by our experiences, by our reason, by our emotions, or heaven forbid, by our DNA? Could it be we have little choice about what we do in life? Like the twins, separated at birth who met at age 50 to find they married women by the same name and hair color. They named their children the same names. The smoked the same cigarettes, drank the same beer, captained their bowling teams, etc., etc. They each thought they were making choices. Perhaps not?

The Repub fear of immigrants is interesting to me. How unhappy to have these people coming in from troubled or war torn countries who don't speak a word of English. Someone like 9 year old Mario Capecchi (kuh Peck ee) and his mom, who came from Italy in the late 40's. Separated from his mom at age 4 when she went to the Dachau death camp, he lived on the street, in orphanages, and in a hospital for malnutrition, until Mom, one of the few to survive the camp, found him in hospital at age 9. Two weeks later, they were in the United States. He was one of the ESOL kids, starting in the 3rd grade, even though he had never been to school and spoke only Italian. Yesterday, he won a Nobel prize in medicine, along with another American, Oliver Smithies, 82, and Sir Martin Evans 66, of Wales. Our national media reported that two Americans and one Brit were awarded the prize. They did not say that the two Americans were both immigrants, one from Italy, one from the United Kingdom. Pause. Wave the flag. Ignore the irony.

Mario Capecchi seems about like the many disadvantaged immigrants or like the children of lower class America who struggle against so many issues. Yet he wins the Nobel prize. How do we explain it?--The influence of his mother, his Italian work ethic, his reason, "choices" that he made? Or maybe . . . the stuff he was working on which won him the prize--his DNA.

I don't know what makes me a Democrat. I'd be willing to have my taxes raised to help give $190 billion to making the world better. Instead, the proposal is to put $190 on the charge bill to go and blow stuff up. We must find a way to stymie this horrible preznit. If I were a congressman today. I would refuse to vote for any legislation until compromises were made. No compromise, no government. I'd cut off my own pay. I'd cut off all travel allowances for the executive branch. I'd cut off everyone's pay. Until compromises were made.