A Different Point of View
Muhammad Naeem | Contributor
“Drop by drop, a river is made.” I remember these words from a wise old man who was teaching me about strength in numbers. “Brick by brick, a building is made,” that was a corollary, implying the same meanings. A drop by itself, as is evident, has no power. A brick is week on its own and can easily be crushed. But, a building can stand tall in front of a hurricane, and a river can unleash power to light up cities and run our entire infrastructure.
I recently travelled to Texas, to be part of the graduation ceremonies for my son, who is part of the United States Air Force. Never did this adage fit more than it did that day, when I realized the enormity of the combined strength of each and every individual airman marching in unison on the field. I could see all their feet moving together at the bottom of that sea of our soldiers, with a rhythm that filled our hearts with pride. But there was more to it than just the discipline displayed by all the men and women in uniform. There was the realization, that those warriors, along with other recruits in all other military branches, represented our awesome combined military power that the world has NEVER seen before.
My son joined the Air Force with his best friend. To us, those two are just little punks, who think that they are all that, but in reality, they are just two young men with their quirks and insecurities, not sure of their place in this world, or even the direction their future should take as they grow into strong, productive men. But on that field, along with all the other punks, they showed discipline and determination that left me breathless.
Each of those weak links, when working together, became the wall that would stand between us as a nation, and any adversary, foe, or enemy that would dare look at us the wrong way. All those sons and daughters, when they come together, become the mighty force that can turn the world upside down; that can move planets out of their orbit; and that can literally obliterate the sun if we chose to do so. We walked around the Air Force Base and watched young men and women train for whatever the future holds, to defend this nation against all known and unknown factors, and to become something above and beyond anything the world has ever imagined. All those military planes flying overhead, all the sounds heard over ground, and all that activity around us with the singular purpose of producing super men and super women, who will defend this nation with their lives. It all represented true patriotism. The real, genuine, and authentic patriotism; a dictionary definition of true devotion to one’s country and vigorous support for its values. There can never be such an ostentatious display of true and dedicated love for our nation as the one we experienced, and I mean that in the strongest possible way—experienced—that day. It
was real, it was tangible, and we could feel it not only with our emotions, but with all of our senses. We could hear it, see it, breathe it in, even taste it, and we could literally feel it with each and every pore of our bodies.
All the graduates marched together to showcase the machine that they had all become, following commands with precision and timing. The pride that flowed in their body language; the words that were spoken by the commanders, officers, and generals present during the ceremony; the salutes and tears that flowed from the veterans present in the crowd, from all branches of the military; and the heads held way high and chests extended way out by the parents, siblings, and relatives of those graduates, all created a magic of unbelievable intensity.
Our son has taken his place among the true elites. He is part of something big and important. He has committed his life to this nation, and we had no choice but to shed a few tears ourselves. Whether those were tears of joy that he has become a lot more than what his mother and I could have ever hoped for, or they were tears of appreciation for him and his fellow heroes, who stand ready to tear down any and all obstacles that stand between the greatness of our nation and the threats that may appear to try to rip our core, or even tears of pride that we felt as the parents of such a selfless, brave young man, who by virtue of him being a part of our mighty force, has also indoctrinated us into this special group of families who play a vital role in the safety, security, and the defense of our country.
This nation is a superpower only because it stands on the shoulders of these mighty pillars of strength. It is only strong and mighty, because it is defended by these giants, who can topple mountains if they get in the way. It is invincible because of these men and women in uniform, who looked invincible on their own, and even as individual beings, they were towers of strength, and not just bricks. These drops looked like
mighty rivers of their own.
While his mother hugged him and kissed him, I couldn’t help but notice that my feet were moving to the same rhythm and beat as the ones being displayed by other recruits. The flag has never looked and felt as strong a symbol of our nation as it did on that day, when my son took the oath to defend it and to make sure that it would always fly high and fly proud. We wish him, his fellow airmen, and to all the soldiers that are becoming part of our military power, the best in the world, and we wish that our nation would learn from their shared commitment to this nation and join forces to stand behind them as one nation under God, and not the tattered, divided, and bitter populace that the politicians are turning us into.
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