Viet Nam, Chu Lai, Americal Division, U.S. Army
Captain Edward B. Feathers (top right) in front of the Three Feathers B-29. Dad and his crew flew 35 bombing missions over Saipan and Tokyo.
Dudley Jones, World War I, Ambulance Corps, France
In the long sweep of history, the United States of America is a young nation. As a citizen and daughter of a family who gave much of their youth to defending her, my love of this country has never waned.
However, to keep such a fragile thing as a democracy Thomas Jefferson observed that eternal vigilance is the price we pay.
To be an American citizen requires study, discernment, and dialogue with people who hold another viewpoint about its state and its practice. That requires us to possess skills in the art of debate. Critical thinking must be utilized in the arguments put forth by each side of the issue at hand. There is an implied respect for each other in order for any topic to be well examined.
In our current era these skills are lacking in general across media. They thankfully still exist in long forms such as books, literature, and organized interviews and public platforms moderated by intelligent human beings.
On this weekend, in honor of our veterans here and gone from us, I issue the call for all of us Americans to carefully examine how well we utilize these critical thinking skills as we communicate with each other about the current state of the American democracy. For those who gave the final measure, their very lives, we owe it to them.
Susan Feathers 