For those coming late to the discussion, Bluegill’s thought-provoking A Question for the Community and the thread emerging from it should be referenced.
In essence, my colleague asks: Can we locate a New Albany/Floyd County politician who stands for something, and if so, does his or her position bear any intrinsic relationship to local political parties insofar as these entities stand for anything?
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I’ve gone back a few days into the Tribune’s archive for this:
A Time To Remember; Clark, Floyd veterans honor fallen comrades, by Larry Thomas (News & Tribune).
Marching east on Market Street in New Albany, Marine Corps Lt. Col. Ben Gipe lamented Memorial Day’s lost meaning.
Gipe, the commander of Floyd Central High School’s Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, and his students were among scores who participated in New Albany’s Memorial Day observance.
To many U.S. citizens, Memorial Day has become nothing more than the kickoff of summer — a day to roll out grills, speedboats and bikinis.
“That’s OK, too, but also pause to remember,” he said. “No one else protects our Constitution. It’s only veterans. It’s not lawyers or politicians.”
Lt. Col. Gipe’s lamentation bears repeating.
“No one else protects our Constitution. It’s only veterans. It’s not lawyers or politicians.”
As the son of a veteran, I’ll not quibble with the self-evident assertion that soldiers “protect the Constitution,” although it’s worth noting that chief executives periodically deploy fighting men for tasks seemingly unrelated to the founding document’s purposes.
But “only veterans?”
And: “Not lawyers or politicians?”
Am I the only one who thinks that the officer’s broad swipe at certain professions – certainly useful cogs of the home front – throws opens one of CM Steve Price’s infamous Pandora’s Boxes?
