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The following speech, delivered by Beth Chapman during a "Stand
Up for America Rally" hosted by the Shelby County Alabama Legislative
Delegation, resulted in five standing ovations...
I'm here tonight because men and women of the United States
military have given their lives for my freedom. I am not here tonight because
Sheryl Crowe, Rosie O'Donnell, Martin Sheen, George Clooney, Jane Fonda or Phil
Donahue, sacrificed their lives for me. If my memory serves me correctly, it
was not movie stars or musicians, but the United States Military who fought on
the shores of Iwo Jima, the jungles of Vietnam, and the beaches of Normandy.
Tonight, I say we should support the President of the United States
and the U.S. Military and tell the liberal, tree-hugging, Birkenstock-wearing,
hippy, tie-dyed liberals to go make their movies and music and whine somewhere
else. After all, if they lived in Iraq, they wouldn't be allowed the freedom of
speech they're being given here today. Ironically, they would be put to death
at the hands of Sadam Husssein or Osama Bin Laden. I want to know how
the very people who are against war because of the loss of life, can possibly
be the same people who are for abortion? They are the same people who are for
animal rights but against the rights of the unborn. The movie stars say they
want to go to Iraq and serve as "human shields" for the Iraqis. I say let them
buy a one-way ticket and go. No one likes war. I hate war! But the one thing I
hate more is the fact that this country has been forced into war- -innocent
people have lost their lives - - and there but for the grace of God, it could
have been my brother, my husband, or even worse my own son. On December 7,
1941, there are no records of movie stars treading the blazing waters of Pearl
Harbor. On September 11, 2001; there are no photos of movie stars standing as
"human shields" against the debris and falling bodies descending from the World
Trade Center. There were only policemen and firemen - -underpaid civil servants
who gave their all with nothing expected in return. When the USS Cole was
bombed, there were no movie stars guarding the ship - - where were the human
shields then? If America's movie stars want to be human shields, let
them shield the gang-ridden streets of Los Angeles, or New York City, let them
shield the lives of the children of North Birmingham whose mothers lay them
down to sleep on the floor each night to shelter them from stray bullets. If
they want to be human shields, I say let them shield the men and women of
honesty and integrity who epitomize courage and embody the spirit of freedom by
wearing the proud uniforms of the United States Military. Those are the people
who have earned and deserve shielding! Throughout the course of
history, this country has remained free, not because of movie stars and liberal
activists, but because of brave men and women who hated war too. However, they
lay down their lives so that we all may live in freedom. After all - "What
greater love hath no man, that he lay down his life for his friend," or in this
case a country. We should give our military honor and acknowledgement and not
let their lives be in vain. If you want to see true human shields, walk through
Arlington Cemetery. There lie human shields, heroes, and the BRAVE Americans
who didn't get on television and talk about being a human shield - they were
human shields. I thank God tonight for freedom - - those who bought and paid
for it with their lives in the past - - those who will protect it in the
present and defend it in the future. America has remained silent too
long! God-fearing people have remained silent too long! We must lift our voices
united in a humble prayer to God for guidance and the strength and courage to
sustain us throughout whatever the future may hold. After the tragic events of
Sept. 11th, my then eleven -year-old son said terrorism is a war against us and
them and if you're not one of us, then you're one of them. So in closing
tonight, let us be of one accord, let us stand proud, and let us be the human
shields of prayer, encouragement and support for the President, our troops and
their families and our country. May God bless America, the land of the free,
the home of the brave and the greatest country on the face of this earth!
© 2003, Beth Chapman
American
politics is no longer about Democrats, Republicans, or Independents ...
It's not a fight between the Liberal Left and the Christian Right ...
It is about WHAT America is.
It's a war of competing ideas and
worldviews. It's a conflict over
beliefs and values, over the ideas that will rule society. It's about whether
certain individuals are above the law or are all Americans equal under the law.
It's about truth... or is truth even important? It's about the direction we
want this country to go in the future. It's about the world we leave for our
children. It's about what god we acknowledge or whether we acknowledge
any god at all. It's about the same struggle man has gone through
since the beginning of time, the struggle between good and evil.
© Copyright 1999-2006 Jeremiah Project
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