Statue of Iwo Jima

Long ago, long before I had children and my brain still functioned, I served as a Congressional Scholar in Washington DC. This honor was reserved for the top 200 students in the US based on civic involvement and academics. (toot, toot. . .my own little horn)When I returned I was asked to give speeches to various organizations in the community. I found this excerpt from one of them.

I visited all the near by monuments and historical sights but perhaps the most touching was the Statue of Iwo Jima. My advisor was very knowledgeable about DC trivia and was constantly giving out interesting tid bits of information. I was staring at the great detail in the statue when he told me to count the hands on the statue. After 15 minutes of counting again and again, I concluded that there were 13 hands instead of the 12 one would expect. I pondered the incongruity for a moment until my advisor whispered to me and my companion that the 13^th hand was the hand of God. A chill went up my spine as he said that and a tear fell down my cheek. It is so hard to believe that the country that once recognized the hand of God in it’s victories is the same one we live in today. A country whose citizen’s take part in immoral acts and kill for the thrill of the sport. Through out the history of the United States, courageous men and women have labored and sacrificed to uphold the principles enshrined in our Constitution: freedom, equality, and justice, if we are to keep faith with them, if we are to preserve the blessings of liberty, then we too must recognize the importance of our Constitution and faithfully exercise our rights and responsibilities as citizens.