11/11/11, an auspicious number somehow. And a date that happens to correlate with this year’s Veteran’s Day. Whatever the reasons, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the freedoms we enjoy here in America and thought I might as well share them with you.
This contemplation actually started last Friday when I had the privilege of attending an employee’s Naturalization Ceremony here at the Federal Court House in Tucson. Many of you know Juanita from our Speedway location. She’s been the topic of a blog, an Employee of the Month, a featured story in our newsletter. She came to the U.S. from Equatorial Guinea about six years ago, got a job (at Metro), learned English, learned to drive, earned her GED, and has now earned American Citizenship. If you can’t tell, we’re super proud of her.
I’d never been to a Naturalization Ceremony before, didn’t know what to expect, thought I’d show Juanita some support. That was really about it - wasn’t expecting much - and I’m going to be honest with you: before attending, I’d also been quite a bit down on the ol’ U S of A. I won’t go into details; suffice to say, as a business owner, I’ve been frustrated with politics (both sides of the aisle), taxes, regulations, rising costs, a poor economy, the list goes on and and on. It’s easy enough to let happen (I’m only human, after all), we let things get us down.
And here’s something I’ve learned over the years: whenever you’re down, about the best cure you can hope for, is for something not too tragic to slap you in the face, just enough to give you a good dose of reality. You need something to remind you that things aren’t as bad as they seem; something to remind you that others may not have it as good. For me, the 50+ new American Citizens I got the chance to meet on Friday did just that. It was an amazing thing to see.
After swearing in the new citizens, the Judge gave these same individuals the opportunity to stand up and speak, to tell their stories, to say why American citizenship was so important to them. It was a humbling experience to say the least. People who had come from all over the world stood up, they had tears in their eyes, and they would say how thankful they were to be in a “free” country. It was the theme that was repeated over and over and over: Freedom.
The freedom of speech (to not worry that what you say will get you landed in a jail cell), the freedom of religion (or no religion at all), the freedom to start a business, to take a risk, to do whatever you feel you’re best at. Freedom. Freedom. Freedom. One young lady from Cuba looked out over the audience and said: “When you’re born in America, you just have no idea what you have. You have no idea.” And me, in the corner, feeling smaller and smaller.
Freedom.
And the truth is, unfortunate as it may seem, it is only available to us by defense. That was the other thing that was brought to light in this ceremony: how much these same freedoms are a result of our military - the military guard we have right now, and the men and women who have served in our history before them. One man in the Ceremony said (and I quote), “I will never mind paying taxes, because I know that I’m paying for the protection of my freedom.” That’s an awesome statement, actually. At least it was to me.
I wish you all could have been there. It’s an experience I won’t soon forget. And I can tell you this: I left that court house with a fresh perspective (and certainly in a better mood). I have always tipped my hat to our men and women in the military, but to some extent, I think it has just been good manners. Seeing what it is these individuals are actually protecting - the value that we should be placing on our freedom - makes my “thank you” to them a lot more sincere today.
And so here is what I want to say: Thank you. For those of you serving right now. For those of you who served in the past. Thank you. My life isn’t so bad. As a matter of fact, it’s pretty good. And I take it for granted too often. Especially the fact that it wouldn’t be this way if you didn’t/hadn’t sacrificed to serve this country. With all my sincerity, thank you.
It’s 11/11/11 today, folks. It’s Veteran’s Day. Enjoy the blue sky. Enjoy your freedom.
-DJ DripDry
This contemplation actually started last Friday when I had the privilege of attending an employee’s Naturalization Ceremony here at the Federal Court House in Tucson. Many of you know Juanita from our Speedway location. She’s been the topic of a blog, an Employee of the Month, a featured story in our newsletter. She came to the U.S. from Equatorial Guinea about six years ago, got a job (at Metro), learned English, learned to drive, earned her GED, and has now earned American Citizenship. If you can’t tell, we’re super proud of her.
I’d never been to a Naturalization Ceremony before, didn’t know what to expect, thought I’d show Juanita some support. That was really about it - wasn’t expecting much - and I’m going to be honest with you: before attending, I’d also been quite a bit down on the ol’ U S of A. I won’t go into details; suffice to say, as a business owner, I’ve been frustrated with politics (both sides of the aisle), taxes, regulations, rising costs, a poor economy, the list goes on and and on. It’s easy enough to let happen (I’m only human, after all), we let things get us down.
And here’s something I’ve learned over the years: whenever you’re down, about the best cure you can hope for, is for something not too tragic to slap you in the face, just enough to give you a good dose of reality. You need something to remind you that things aren’t as bad as they seem; something to remind you that others may not have it as good. For me, the 50+ new American Citizens I got the chance to meet on Friday did just that. It was an amazing thing to see.
After swearing in the new citizens, the Judge gave these same individuals the opportunity to stand up and speak, to tell their stories, to say why American citizenship was so important to them. It was a humbling experience to say the least. People who had come from all over the world stood up, they had tears in their eyes, and they would say how thankful they were to be in a “free” country. It was the theme that was repeated over and over and over: Freedom.
The freedom of speech (to not worry that what you say will get you landed in a jail cell), the freedom of religion (or no religion at all), the freedom to start a business, to take a risk, to do whatever you feel you’re best at. Freedom. Freedom. Freedom. One young lady from Cuba looked out over the audience and said: “When you’re born in America, you just have no idea what you have. You have no idea.” And me, in the corner, feeling smaller and smaller.
Freedom.
And the truth is, unfortunate as it may seem, it is only available to us by defense. That was the other thing that was brought to light in this ceremony: how much these same freedoms are a result of our military - the military guard we have right now, and the men and women who have served in our history before them. One man in the Ceremony said (and I quote), “I will never mind paying taxes, because I know that I’m paying for the protection of my freedom.” That’s an awesome statement, actually. At least it was to me.
I wish you all could have been there. It’s an experience I won’t soon forget. And I can tell you this: I left that court house with a fresh perspective (and certainly in a better mood). I have always tipped my hat to our men and women in the military, but to some extent, I think it has just been good manners. Seeing what it is these individuals are actually protecting - the value that we should be placing on our freedom - makes my “thank you” to them a lot more sincere today.
And so here is what I want to say: Thank you. For those of you serving right now. For those of you who served in the past. Thank you. My life isn’t so bad. As a matter of fact, it’s pretty good. And I take it for granted too often. Especially the fact that it wouldn’t be this way if you didn’t/hadn’t sacrificed to serve this country. With all my sincerity, thank you.
It’s 11/11/11 today, folks. It’s Veteran’s Day. Enjoy the blue sky. Enjoy your freedom.
-DJ DripDry
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