Photo courtesy of freeimages.com

By Lori Jaffe

Once a year, on Memorial Day, we gather as a nation to honor those members of our military who fought and died to protect our unalienable Rights - Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. This year was the first Memorial Day after four years of chaos. This year, it is even more important that we honor our veterans' memories by doing our part each day. It can be a simple act, like emailing your representative. Sometimes it will be more difficult, like gathering petition signatures, talking to people who don't share our views or even running for public office. We can honor our fallen by fighting back in ways as numerous as the poppies that grew in the battlefields after World War I.  We live in "interesting times" and it will not be easy. 

For the past four years, we have experienced what Victor Davis Hanson calls The Decivilizing of America. Our secure borders were taken down. Because of far-Left policies, beautiful cities have decayed and prime real estate has been devastated by fire. Our veterans were kicked out of military service if they refused an experimental vaccine. Many children were duped into thinking they were born in the wrong bodies. Parents were lied to about what was happening inside the schools. In some respects, our country has become unrecognizable. But now, thanks to the wisdom of the American people, we have someone back in office who respects our country, our families, and our military.

After World War I, the battlegrounds were left devastated. Then there was a sign of life - the poppies bloomed. According to the Farmers’ Almanac,  “The sight of the red poppies inspired one Canadian soldier, Colonel John McCrae, to pen a poem in May 1915:

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly.
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Colonel John McCrae”

As it says in the poem, we must not break faith with those who died for our country. We are on our way back. But we each must pitch in and do our part.

Now we ourselves are inspired - we see a secure border, the end of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies in the military and as of last week, Townhall reported on a new Rasmussen poll. "For the first time in history, Rasmussen polling found that 50 percent of the country believes it is on the 'right track,' just shy of President Donald Trump’s six-month mark into his second presidency.” Yes, this confirms that we and not the far-Left are still in the majority. This should give us hope. We must keep our momentum going. 

When it comes to persistently pushing the envelope here in Montgomery County, we think of the Committee to Control MoCo Spending, the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee, the women’s Republican clubs and the many volunteers who helped them. Thanks to the Committee for Better Government, Marc Elrich has been limited to two terms as County Executive. Thank you! 

Committee to Control MoCo Spending volunteers collect petition signatures.

During his first term, President Trump reminded us that we must keep the faith. (0.18) “Over the course of your life, you will find that things are not always fair. You will find that things happen to you that you do not deserve and that are not always warranted. But you have to put your head down and fight, fight fight. Never ever ever give up. Don't give in, don't back down and never stop doing what you know is right. Nothing worth doing ever ever ever came easy. And the more righteous your fight, the more opposition that you will face. In your hearts are inscribed the values of service, sacrifice, and devotion. Now you must go forth into the world and turn your hopes and dreams into action.” 

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci / AP Images)

We encourage you to honor those who fought for the God-given rights we hold dear. You can find some volunteer activities HERE. After all, we owe it to them, don’t we? Yes, we do. Keep the faith.

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Lori Jaffe is the Party Secretary for the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee, Member of the Executive Board and publisher of the MCGOP Digest. She can be reached at [email protected]