For many years this went on. Never truly giving a thought to what I could do, what WE could do.
But one day, one moment, a friend came up to me, saying "Lindsey, you would be great at getting involved..."
A light switched on. Something I had never considered doing, but only made the most sense finally hit me. Why NOT get involved? Why NOT make a difference. Why NOT define myself? Quite possibly define the Country.
I care about everyone in this country. I don't need to know or shake hands with my neighbors in California, or Nebraska, or New York in order to actually care for them. Maybe thats the humanitarian in me. Whatever it is, its a gratifying feeling to know that I find comfort in those thoughts.
So I decided to get involved. I did so by joining up with the AAEI - Americans Against Escalation in Iraq. Now I'm part of something greater then me, but at the same time knowing it wouldn't be anything without me and the others that joined on.
Its not easy, but in life, what is? The difference being I know this is the right thing, I can feel it down to the very blood that beats through this bleeding heart.
There are jobs that make you feel good, and there are jobs that define you. This embodies both. The hard long hours, day in and day out mean nothing when you realize that you're trying to speak up for so many who may not be able to do so themselves. Or, maybe they are afraid, maybe they are not allowed. There have been several instances where I have run into those very people -- in which they thank me. Tell me to keep up the work, and it's obvious within their eyes that they truly mean it. Or, maybe its the way they hold your hand, with obvious intentions of me being a messenger.
All of this will become more and more clear as the days and months go on. Even as I write this, plans are being made for the 28th of Aug. Just one day in which the message of how the War is out of control and needs to be stopped will come to rise. One day among many that have come and gone. Among many that will rise again. We as a Nation know its wrong, we know that our Troops deserve better.
70% of the Country knows better. Our Troops have stood up for our Nation for years on end, now it's time we stand up for THEM.
So while this will sound like a plug, in reality its simply a plug for the right reasons. Its a plug to help stop the excessive bleeding of this Country. Not just in the literal sense, but in that we must unify as a Nation, we must STAND UP and let everyone know what the right thing to do is. Our fellow and honorable Republican officials must Take A Stand against this War. They must be responsible. They must listen to their constituents, or as always, face the political peril that will stalk them.
Come Aug. 28th we all have a chance, we all have a unified voice. Join up, Stand up, Speak up. Let the Nation hear us as one. And worry not about being able to attend, this is going on in roughly 15 States around the Country.
Just as a light inside me was sparked to make a difference, maybe... just maybe the same will happen for you. Its not a matter of IF you can make a difference... its a matter of WHEN.
In Virginia, that "when" is Aug. 28th.
Sgt. Scott L. Kirkpatrick, 26, of Reston, was among four soldiers who were killed Aug. 11 in Arab Jabour, Iraq, of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device.
Kirkpatrick grew up in Sterling and graduated from Park View High School in 1998.
We need to bring our neighbors home.