Uncommon Valor
...the Chronicle
Your
Valor and Virtue Sleep Not, but shine through the night.
They ignited once dim embers that are now burning bright.
You have set new standard for the U.S. to achieve. You
awakened a new spirit from sea to shining sea. An eternal
flame ever shines on our Flag that is still there!
...Greater Love hath no man than this, that a man lay down
his life for his friends (John 15:13 KJV)
I’m certain that the picture of the fireman
raising the flag stirred most of us to the depths of our
beings. A similar statue reads; “uncommon valor was common
virtue”. A picture truly is worth a thousand words. It
should become one of the icons of American Symbols along
with the Eagle, the American Flag, and the Declaration of
Independence.
That picture was
symbolic of so many thoughts and ideas that Americans hold
dear. Symbolic of:
Resurrection from
the rubble and ascension to a destined height
Raising hope for a
future.
Bringing silent
patriotism and allegiance to “A Cause and A Nation” out
of the closet ...putting voice and action to it.
The spirit that
birthed America.
Raising a “new
standard” to which we as Americans must reach to
achieve.
The spirit within
Americans that will not remain prostrate in the ashes of
temporal devastation and destruction.
The spirit that
will never give in or give up. For though a righteous
nation (man) falls seven times, it (he) rises again, but
the wicked are brought down by calamity.
“United we stand”,
what the evildoers meant for evil served to awaken and
unite a sleeping giant.
The words of our
national anthem that though tattered and torn ...our
flag was still there.
A remnant of “self
sacrificing people in this nation who were and are
willing to lay down their lives for their friends”.
In pondering the
illustration for this writing and rendering, I was
reminded of the eternal flame that resides at the grave of
John F. Kennedy serving as a reminder that “greatness
never sleeps”. At Arlington Cemetery, a plaque reads,
“Valor sleeps here”. But I say to the thousands lost that
day, September 11, 2001; your valor does not sleep, but
burns brighter still. It is symbolic of an eternal flame
that guides us through the darkness and out of the valley
of the shadow of death. A table is being prepared in the
midst of America’s enemies ...She will prevail! Lost but
not forgotten ...the fruit of your labors and the
sacrifices that you made were not in vain but served to
bring “a voice and a cause’ that was heard around the
world! |
