Da Goddess

Spirit Of America Challenge

To everyone who has participated in this fundraiser - you so ROCK! Over $33,000 $44,000 has been donated!

I am so in awe of those who came up with this idea. Dean and Michele did a great thing by starting this. John was smart to recognize that there was still room for another team. Excellent work all the way around.

Our team is made up of some interesting people. People I didn't know before. People who fascinate me in many ways. In getting to know some of them better, I feel so lucky to be a part of such an awesome team. I'm glad Smash asked me to join in the fun!

I'd been wondering why each person decided to support Spirit of America. So I started asking.

Ghost of a Flea responded first with this: Spirit of America gives me a chance to do something to help if only in a small way. This is particularly true as a Canadian whose government let us down and in so doing let down our friends and neighbours. Spirit of America gives those of who who can't fight a way to show our appreciation to those who can.

Deb - from Marine Corps Moms - said: Last year, when my son left for Iraq with the 1/7 Marines, I needed a positive focus for my energy. For the next six months, a couple of my Marine Corps Mom friends and I raised funds and sought in-kind donations to help children in the An Najaf province. We sent approximately 5,000 lbs. of school supplies - almost 700 backpacks filled with school supplies and 50 teacher bags with classroom supplies. When my son told me that he was going back to Iraq in 2004, we wanted to repeat our efforts but in a more efficient manner. Our local Marine recruiter, Gunny Dukes, passed along a memo from 1MARDIV describing the No Better Friends program. When I contacted the LtCol in charge of the program, he passed along Jim Hake's name. After looking at what he had done and was continuing to do, I realized that our time would be much better spent supporting his efforts than doing a smaller project up here in Oregon. He is wonderful to work with and I am very impressed with his organizational skills and vision. Our Marines are blessed to have his efforts behind them.

We have always been the kind of moms that cheered from the sidelines of soccer, basketball, baseball and other games and activities. There is no place for a mom on the sidelines of Iraq, but we are still very supportive of our sons' efforts and this is how we can show it.

From Bloodletting: Once a Marine, always a Marine.

Claire says: Freedom of information is the life's breath of a free people. Without the ability to gather correct information and facts a free person cannot make decisions and choices. They cannot be free.

When I learned that I had the chance to effect change in this way I jumped at it.

When I learned that I could do so while playing with this fine bunch of people I jumped again.

Read more from the people who are doing the real work here.

BloodSpite: I hate sitting on the sidelines giving play by plays. I wanted to be involved. This was a great way to actually *do* something, instead of just talking about it!

Teresa shares these thoughts: I'm supporting SoA because a war has to be fought on all fronts, not just the battle field. We need the soldiers out there to go after our enemies, but we also need to communicate our ideas and our mission to the people of Iraq. People won't cooperate if they don't know what's going on, or if they've been lied to about what's going on. SoA's mission to inform the people of Iraq, will ultimately help our soldiers in the field. And if it saves one life - it will all be worth it. If it turns the minds of the populace to democracy instead of terror - it will be worth it. I consider it my little bit toward the war effort.

Aaron offers these thoughts: I grew up a Northeast US liberal who didn't appreciate the military. Over the last 20 years, my upbringing kept getting in the way of my experiences of soldiers being among the finest people I've had the honor to meet. Cognative dissonance, big time.

It was at the tail end of my Buy A Gun Day campaign when I was invited (recruited?) by John Donovan and told about the Spirit of America. I had been vaguely aware of SoA from references and pictures I had seen over the last year.

The gratitude I had for others who helped me get the funds for my upcoming first firearm purchase had me eager to "pay it forward" by doing something for the heroes in uniform who defend my rights. I saw the list of the team John sent and liked it immediately, so I enlisted.
Though not a Fusileer event, last Sunday I got to meet Baldilocks, Smash and Mrs. Smash at a Bear Flag League blogger lunch.

I'm in awe of this group and of our soldiers. If I can help morale with my keyboard, Photoshopping abilities and my PayPal account, I'm all for it!

Misty's thoughts: I sit at home in relative comfort. I get up, go to work in an office, go to school in the evenings and come home to a husband who will make me dinner, a dog who is always eager to see me and a cat who, if he's in a good mood, will allow me to pet him - sometimes. This is the good life because it is a life of my choosing and if I am so inclined, I can change it anytime I want to. I realize I am able to make these choices because someone stood their ground with rifle in hand and battled for freedom a couple hundred years ago.

The same thing is happening today. It's a different land, but it's the same soldiers who are making the sacrifices. I believe that Spirit of America can and will have a direct influence on the safety of our men and women in uniform. Anything I can do to help them stay safe while doing their jobs I am more than happy to do. And two hundred years from now, when another battle is raging in some foreign land, I hope there will be an organization called Spirit of Iraq that allows ordinary citizens to raise money to help their soldiers free another oppressed people so they will be free to make their own choices in life as well.

Brain Shavings has a more personal reason: I decided to support SoA after I read how they get super-fast results without bureaucratic entanglements ... and all without administrative costs. And besides, this retired Coastie's always had a soft spot in his heart for the Marine Corps.

Darthvob chimes in with: John (of Castle Argghhh!) sent out a message on this to the milbloggers prior to going public. He saw this as something we could band together to support from a unique perspective. I signed on. Had John not put this coalition together, I likely would have joined the Esmay coalition. Dean set me up on MT during the great blogspot diaspora of aught-three.

I whole-heartedly support the SoA drive to finance the Marine's efforts with the information dissemination problem in Iraq. In the future, I'd like to see a drive to fund college funds for the children of fallen servicemembers.

Michael says: Basically, the Spirit of America is a fantastic way of giving back to both the people who have already given much to us (the Marines) and the people who need our help the most (the Iraqi people). Both of these groups have given up so much, participating in the Spirit of America challenge is the least I could do.

Tammi wanted to join in and do something for Spirit of America because: I had to do something. I'm not one to sit back when I'm passionate about something and I'm really passionate about supporting our troops, in more than just lip service. When I saw they were trying to raise money for the TV stations, I realized that this was not some small project - and that the results will be far reaching. Think about the lives that can be changed or saved thru this.

I'm just a walking sappy hallmark card with limited caffine, but I'm so damn proud to have been a part of something that will make such an impact and to have been associated with the people that have worked so hard to make this happen.

She Who Will Be Obeyed protests a little too much in her explanation: I'm so bad with words! I have written a dozen things, reread them and erased them.

I guess I can say that here is a charitable organization that has no overhead -
all of my money except any credit card fees goes to help our cause in Iraq. And, it makes me feel good.

Laughing Wolf says: I am participating for several reasons, but the strongest is that I am very concerned that we are losing the peace, as it were. The suits have failed to do any needed education, news, and more that are the center of any hearts and minds campaign. This is especially important in a country/region that does not have the background information, philosophy, or traditions that are crucial for a democracy or a republic. The work being done through Spirit of America will fill that void, and are essential to the long-term success of the War on Terror.

Blackfive - the Paratrooper of Love told me: It's tough summing up why I do the things I do...I guess it boils down to my belief that, if you can't pick up a rifle, then you need to do something, ANYTHING, to help our military fight this war.

Because if we don't back them up, we'll lose and the fight will come to our shopping malls, our schools, and our neighborhoods.

Cool Blue: Why do I support the Spirit of America?

Because the Islamo-fascists, with whom we are at war, are right: America and everything we are, everything we stand for is subversive to tyrants and demagogues everywhere.

Because the very fact that the most powerful nation the world has ever seen can, and will, wage war to free people, not enslave them will live on in legends long after the current crop of civilizations have crumbled to dust.

We are the New Camelot, and the myths of future generations will not speak of a specific mythological hero such as King Arthur.

They will speak of the Spirit of America.

And as a result, the hope of Freedom and Liberty, and the Dignity of each individual will live long after we are gone.

Finally, our fearless leader John says: I've always preferred to be the Man in the Arena. But my time for that has passed. I've been doing things in other venues - I do study work that helps shape the future Army. I blog. My Rotary Club is sponsoring a school in Mosul. But when I saw this, well, I saw a chance to be in the Arena again - and make a difference. And, well, to command again, too. Though I think I've been pretty gentle in the regard... This was as close to the Arena as I can get these days, with this damaged body from my previous time in the arena. But this old warhorse paws the ground and snorts when he hears the bugle call Assembly or To Arms. So, in the Spirit of the Volunteer Soldier - I put my reputation on the line and Raised my Regiment! And what a splendid bunch of Warriors you have been. You make me proud.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

More thoughts from the Fusileers still to come.....

In the meantime, please donate. You can do so by straight out donating, or you can bid on one of the many items up for auction.

The Full Roster of Fighting Fusileers for Freedom:

The Imperial Armorer
She Who Will Be Obeyed
The Imperial Animatrix
Right Wingin-it!
Loyal Reader Calliope!
Un-named Left-of-Center Blogger Not Appearing in this blogroll*
Triticale
Darthvob
A Soldiers Blog
Practical Penumbra
Road Warrior Rules for Survival
Brain Shavings
The Bejus Pundit!
Blackfive - The Paratrooper of Love!
Technicalities
The Anti-Idotarian Rottweiler
Democrats Give Conservatives Indigestion
Bloodletting
The Politburo Diktat
The Mudville Gazette
Geeklog
The Common Virtue
The Ghost of a Flea
Grim's Hall
Feste, A Foolsblog!
LC Glen, Imperial Longbowman
Dawn L, the Non-Commenting Commenter!
Loyal Reader "Brass"
Loyal Reader "Bill" (Constructive credit for already donating)
Marine Corps Moms
Colorado Psycho
Wasted Electrons
Citizen Smash
A Special Kind of Stupid
Aaron's Rantblog
Da Goddess
Uruloki's Lair
The Cool Blue Blog
e-Claire
Baldilocks
Straight White Guy
Knowledge is Power
Ben's World
Mollbot
TacJammer
The Laughing Wolf
Merde in France
Hugh Hewitt

Posted by DaGoddess at April 28, 2004 02:12 AM