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TheTanker.Com Welcomes John Bertetto

Do You Believe?

Well, it didn’t take too long, friends. This link has been up only a couple of short weeks and the response has been fantastic. Keep those e-mails coming. When Mike suggested this forum, we discussed the type of feedback we were hoping to receive. As anticipated, it has been spot on. I’d like, though, to take the time to illuminate my position on a couple of things.

I have nothing against people from other countries. By and large the United States shares the global stage comfortably with many nations. The immediacy of the Internet and satellite communications ties us to people halfway around the world, making the distribution of information and ideas instantaneous. The ripples from a stone thrown in a pond overseas are felt in our own waters. Markets are global, and as a nation of peace and prosperity, we welcome our brothers and sisters from beyond our borders.

As our country’s history is that of immigrants, it would be foolish for me to take any stance that excludes them. The strength of this great nation has always lain in its diversity. By allowing those who wish to settle in our homeland the ability to do so, we strengthen both ourselves and our position in the global spectrum. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free...”; these are not just words on a plaque. They are the fire that burns in the torch of Lady Liberty, who stands like a beacon welcoming all those who wish for a better life (– and for one of the few times on this site, thank you France).

But here is where I have a problem: don’t come to this country, benefit from a life of freedom and enterprise, send your children to the schools of your choosing, make as much money in our economy as you like, and take advantage of all the things that make this country great, then denounce it like the child of some one night stand. The boat goes both ways. If you truly believe that America is evil or that Americans are terrible people – leave. Go back where you came from. But don’t stand there, curse the orchard, and still expect some of the fruit. Don’t try to grab all you can with one hand, then try to stab us in the back with the other. Just leave. Otherwise get with the program.

On the flip side of that coin, there are some very disturbed people in the world. People who would like to destroy America and Americans. The message from the United States is clear to these people – We know who you are, and we are coming for you. Do you think Qadhafi has mellowed in his old age? Think he’s seen the light of reason? The only thing he’s seen has been Saddam Hussein crawling from a tiny whole in the ground, haggard and defeated. It didn’t take a great deal of imagination for Mummar to see his own face crawling from that hole. That is why he acquiesced. That is the message this country should, and is, sending.

I am not an intolerant or hateful man. I believe that it is the role of the United States to be the ambassador of Democracy across the globe. I support aid to countries and people who require it. I believe in social and psychological programs for youthful, first-time criminal offenders. I do not believe that children should be sentenced to lifelong prison terms. I think that we have failed our children somewhere along the line if the only recourse they believe they have is to bring guns to school, and the only response we have is to give up on them. I do not support the death penalty. I do not believe that it should be illegal to burn the American flag – but Mike Farmer does believe that he has the right to beat the living shit out of anyone who does, still supporting the right of the asshole who does so. I believe in a woman’s right to choose what she does with her own body. But here is what I also believe…

I believe in America. I believe in the Honesty and Integrity that this country is founded upon. I believe in Freedom. I believe in the American People. I believe that Democracy is a precious thing. I believe that the blood of my father in Vietnam, the blood of my grandfather in France and Germany, the blood of my uncle in Korea, and the blood of every other man and woman who has fought for this nation is what paints the red in the American Flag. I believe that it is the duty of every American to protect these things, not because it is required, but because the spirit of every American who has died in the service of this land compels them to do so. I believe in purple mountains’ majesty, amber waves of grain, and fruited plains. And I believe that if you have the right to burn the flag, I have the right to call you the no good, son-of-a-bitch you are.

In years gone by, this was called Patriotism.

Michael Farmer / TheTanker.Com E-Mail readermail@TheTanker.Com

"HEADSHOT" Featuring John Bertetto