One of the very first articles I discovered on her was found in the mother load of places, an organization of authors and commentary and events and news that just calls itself simply "thank you for your service. us".
Granted, there was a picture of the Army Command Sgt. Maj. Teresa King, but no where in the article did it segregate the race factor, it highlighted the fact and commendation of being the very first WOMAN (who just so happens to be black). And here's some other stats:
- Percentage of female officers in the Army - 15%
- Percentage of women in active duty ranks - 14%
- There are 57 women commander/generals in the Army - 5% of the Commander core
- In 1980, King was among the 1st recruits to train along side men
She was chosen for the incredible duty of turning the everyday civilian into a soldier, quite possibly due to her work ethic philosophy of "to give a hard day's work for whatever I earned and take no short cuts." This kind of discipline was taught by her late father who raised twelve children, including the first woman taking charge of raising new recruits.
A point of added interest, she has a Masters Degree in Business Management, and if that weren't enough, she is going on to get another one in Theology, for her love of studying acts of leadership in the Bible. Get out, this girl is amazing. She is making me feel more secure by the minute if this is the kind of person -- as in the best possible person for the job -- holding a position of such great influence over how our boys and girls turn out. God bless her and upon all whom she makes her mark.
Uh ruh, Teresa King, uh ruh. ( uh oh, that just may be Marines...)
By the way, in every article I pulled up this morning, no mention she was black.
Sure, we can all see that, but hello? I guess one could argue that the truth is, the Army needs to work on recruiting more women in general (currently 20% of entire military)...or is it that more women need to be interested in joining the Army? Since we don't have the draft they can't force us, you know.
So in review of this little tidbit of news from yesterday's front page (even though it happened in July?), can we recognize the great feat this truly is? Can we stop and say, wow?! As first and foremost, she not only breaks through the roof of the barracks, but she - as a woman - slaughters any misconception of changes happening today in the rank and file of our fine military services.
The racial makeup of the entire military: 67% white, 17% Black (9% Hispanic); from records through 2005, there were 1,841 deaths in the Iraq War, 71% White, 9% Black (10% Hispanic). Hmmm, the numbers who join are disproportionate to society; so too the numbers who actually give their life; but so too the numbers who actually VOLUNTEER.
As we have noted time and time again, 13% of our general population are African-American; since we are not a country who forces people to go into the military today, those who CHOSE to enlist do so from whatever place in their heart the call to our country exists. Yes, the military has been a refuge as an extension of welfare to some, for others it is the desire to serve or a family heritage passed on, and for others, they may just have something to prove to themselves, or to the world -- the reasons why we join are many and oh so personal.
It is fascinating, Charlie Rangel (D-NY), said he wanted the draft back in play in 2005; he felt we should advocate the military population to conform with the whole; of course, having said that, how in the world does he think he could control who dies? For if everything must be "equal" and the "fair shake" under the utopian view of American life, as according to the liberal handbook, then we have got a lot of work to do in even-ing things out; and this isn't just having to do with blacks, but the Hispanics too, who will clean up after us following hotel stays or pick up the garbage!? Where is Waldo Rangel in that?
The truth is, we can't make people do anything. In America, we're all about giving people the freedom to create their own world, at least we use to be.
In an about face, we haven't even mentioned health care in a few weeks, kind of funny looking back at the blogs of summer; to take a minute to fall in line, if the House Democrats have their way and the President gets what he wants, we may not be going so far as to reinstating the draft, but it looks like we will be forcing people to buy health insurance or else fall victim to a serious fine.
I find it amusing really; all these people who said they can't afford insurance when making 75 k/year (because they have the BMW - ding - and daily Starbucks - ding, ding- to cover), to those kids today fresh out of college thinking they're invincible, they will all be forced to pay up. Isn't that a riot. That be an ambush of not only the wallet, but our personal freedoms, in my eyes; a bold move and one worthy to declare war.
But who are we kidding, it's the government that needs the boot camp. I wonder if King could step in and do something about that?
And just before I go today, you know what else bugs-- speaking of the military and the African-American -- what happened to Colin Powell? From his personal declaration of being a Republican in 1995, from his first national limelight under Reagan as his National Security Advisor, to George H.W., through Clinton, and to George W. as his Secretary of State -- from campaigning for McCain and at times even for himself -- Powell, in all his magnificence, turned on us Americans in that mid-October assault last year, riding the waves of the anti-Bush, anti anything seriously Republican, touting an anything else but reform... for a change is a comin'.
He said he liked Obama's "transformational" abilities.
I think the color of his skin trumped the American Republican. But what do I know?
To his credit, I think Powell was right on the money with Obama's ability to change Washington, oh yes, indeed.
During the final days of the campaign Obama stood at the podium, divining a fortuitous cross of MLK and Churchill, saying this,
"we are five days away from fundamentally changing America"no shit.
make it a good day, G
I posted a picture of my little love booboo. He's black and white; worthy of noting in anticipation for tomorrow's blog xx
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment