HEROES IN OUR MIDST by Gary Deaton

HEROES IN OUR MIDST



 There are those Americans that carry out their everyday duties &
regularly do the things that are needed. They look out for those of us
who are doing right, & protect us from those who are doing wrong. You
may ask, “Who are these Americans?” They would be all men & women of
law enforcement.  They would be our firefighters.  They would be all
first responders.  Every once in a while, they get the honor they
deserve.



On September 11, 2002, Times magazine tells the story of a father &
his 8 year old son leaving a New York Mets baseball game at Shea
Stadium. They approached the intersection where a New York City Police
Officer, one of New York’s finest, was directing traffic. He stopped
the oncoming cars & motioned to the father of the son to cross. When
they were right in front of the officer, the little boy stopped, held
out his baseball glove & asked, “Sir, will you sign this for me?” The
policeman was stunned; he bent down to eye level with the boy & asked
him, “Don’t you want the autograph of a baseball player or maybe a
coach?” “Why would you want a cop’s signature?” The boy looked up at
the officer with deep admiration & said, “Because you helped save the
world.” The officer, with tears in his eyes, said, “son, you don’t
know how bad I needed that.”

The tragedy of September 11, 2001 should challenge all of us to be
courageous & to hold on to the freedoms that we have known. You can be
a hero right where you live. It may not mean saving lives or
protecting the public, but it does mean that we can make a difference
of the lives around us.

Public servants of Madison County go to work every day to serve each
of us. There has been some that gave the ultimate.  We should never
forget the price they pay. The greatest tribute we can pay to our
public servants who have helped us is to help others. I believe they
gave of themselves because it brought joy to their hearts.

The best way to multiply their joy is to allow their influence to be
multiplied in our lives by helping others the way they helped each of
us.

The American Military are true servants & warriors. America has an
incredible Military Force:  Marines, Navy, Army, Air Force, Coast
Guard, these brave men & women who honorably do their duties & too
many of these have lost their lives for the cause of freedom.

In case we find ourselves starting to believe all of the liberal
anti-American sentiment, remember England’s Prime Minister, Tony
Blair’s words before he stepped down, when asked by one of his
Parliament members “WHY HE BELIEVED SO MUCH IN AMERICA?” he said, “ A
simple way to take measure of acountry is to look at how many want
in & how many want out. “

ONLY 2 DEFINING FORCES HAVE EVER OFFERED TO DIE FOR YOU.

1: JESUS CHRIST, SON OF GOD-DIED FOR YOUR SOUL.

2: THE AMERICAN SOLDIER-DIED FOR YOUR FREEDOM.

I believe these young soldiers will tell you that freedom may be seen
not as the right to do as we please, but freedom is the opportunity is
to do what is right.

Americans who honor freedom, I believe is to understand that our
Liberty is under God & can be found nowhere else. Our faith is
something that is not merely stamped upon our coins, but expressed in
our lives. As a Nation, we will not be afraid of standing alone; we
will fight for the rights of all men.

Yes I am telling you, there are “Heroes in our midst”, young & old who
are willing to give the ultimate for freedom.

Freedom has never been free. It has always come with a high price.

President Ronald Reagan said, “IF WE EVER FORGET, WE ARE ONE NATION
UNDER GOD, THEN WE WILL BE ONE NATION GONE UNDER.”



Gary Deaton

“SEMPER FI”