“Until Mary Edwards Wertsch’s remarkable book Military Brats, no one in this country ever had the decency or took the time to thank us for our service to our country. This book is both a love letter and a troubled meditation on the way the children are raised in military families. It is the first book that I know of that records the testimony of those of us who were raised in these families and analyzes our common experience. I wept while reading much of this book, I found myself roaring with laughter in other sections.“
And here is the seed for my idea – to have the Congress of the United States recognize the Military Brats of America for their service and commitment to our nation.
I contacted Bob Latta, R/OH (D-5) in Dec. 2009 and floated the idea to him, through an email. Five hours later I heard from one of his “horse holders,” a member of his staff. He wanted to know more about the idea so I provided additional information for him.
In March 2010 Bob introduced legislation, H.R. 5333, H.R. 5333 (111th): Children of Military Service Members Commemorative Lapel Pin Act, to the Congress. It subsequently “died;” not because the bill doesn’t have merit, but because Washington bureaucrats just sat on their asses with the bill. It got sent “to committee,” and there it was forgotten until the “11th hour,” then it died.
I went back at Bob, and he reintroduced the bill, this time as HR 1014, H.R. 1014 (112th): Children of Military Service Members Commemorative Lapel Pin Act on 11 Mar. 2010. This time the bill sat “in committee” for two years, while Washington bureaucrats sat on their asses. It is not like our Congress is too busy!
So I have once again, gone “back at Bob” to ask him to introduce the bill yet again. The idea has merit, as you will see in subsequent postings on this thread here. If our governments, local, state and federal, can find the time and energy to authorize the distribution of condoms to “inner-city” children – children who contribute absolutely nothing to our nation, then certainly our Congress can authorize a Commemorative Lapel Pin for our kids! Especially since they structured the bill to where we would have to pay for the damn pin ourselves! How cool is that?
If you happen to stumble across my thread here, please take the time to write, call or email your representative or senator and solicit support for this idea…. thank you.