In times like ours, everyone is so self-centered that few think of giving themselves to a higher cause. People flee from suffering and great trials rather than embrace them with courage and grit. As a result, so many fail to see the big picture. They tend to reduce everything to programs, power … Read more
“Toxic masculinity” is one of those trendy expressions that is intentionally left vague and emotional so that it might wreak havoc on society. Once limited to women’s studies department, the term has broken out of its cage and now seems to be everywhere. In these #MeToo times, everyone can claim to be … Read more
Listening to the rhetoric in the present political cycle, there seems to be a missing word. It is not “angst” or “frustration,” neither “equality” nor “jobs” or even the latest buzzword, “establishment.” All these words are thrown around in the present debate. Being true politicians, candidates pepper their speeches with them, while … Read more
The Annual Veterans Conference put on by the American Veterans Center is always a special event, dedicated to preserving and promoting the legacy of our brave servicemen. They did not fail once again to put on a splendid event this November 9-11. “Dear Jesus, Please Forgive my Sins, so I Can Go … Read more
The federal government failed us all on June 28th, and in more ways than one. Days before Americans celebrated the anniversary of our nation’s hard-fought independence, the Supreme Court of the United States declared unconstitutional the Stolen Valor Act. Overshadowed by its decision to uphold the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act … Read more
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Anniversaries can be occasions of both joy and sorrow. On March 2, 2012, 112 Vietnam Veterans came together at the Marine Museum in Quantico, Virginia for an anniversary that was both. They chose that day to honor their captain, the late Colonel John Ripley with a monument, because it was on that … Read more
In the early morning hours of November 9, 1967, as American artillery and aircraft pounded an 875-meter-high hill near Dak To, Vietnam, Fr. Charles Watters offered Mass at its base. Many Protestants joined the Catholics for the well-attended service. Soon, the chaplain would accompany these paratroopers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade as … Read more
On Easter morning, March 25, 1951, the Catholic priest mounted the steps of a partially destroyed church, and turned to face his congregation, some 60 men–gaunt, foul-smelling, in tattered clothing. Fr. Emil Kapaun raised a small, homemade, wooden cross to begin a prayer service, led the men in the Rosary, heard the … Read more
One of the most cited and least understood wars in American history is Vietnam. Due to these misunderstandings, it has become synonymous with the words quagmire and disaster. Thus, opponents of current military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan decry our operations there saying that America is getting itself into “another Vietnam.” However, … Read more
When Michael Monsoor jumped on a grenade to save the lives of three Navy Seals in September of 2006, the nation was left speechless. The Medal of Honor was presented to his grieving parents, during a White House reception, as a mournful audience looked on. There was a man in the room … Read more