Thread by @vot3blue2021, Who could use a little hope today?In @BarackObama's memoir he writes about [...]

Who could use a little hope today?

In @BarackObama& #39;s memoir he writes about replying to the mail he received from his fellow Americans. He wonders what it was like for people to get a reply.

I got one of #obamasletters, this is what it was like for me.

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I voted for @barackobama from Iraq in 2008. I voted for him for a lot of reasons, but none more than his promises to draw down there. I did three tours there as a combat medic and saw the worst of all sides of that ill-advised and ill-managed war.

#obamasletters

In 2008, I saw then-candidate @BarackObama& #39;s speech accepting the DNC nomination while heading home on R&R leave and laying over in Leipzig, Germany. I was pretty stunned when he articulated what I learned as a combat medic. That: "The men and women who serve...

#obamasletters

...in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag.

#obamasletters

...They have not served a red America or a blue America – they have served the United States of America."

People assume the military is a monolith of political conservatism. Especially never-served talking heads on far-right "news" networks.

#obamasletters

But when @BarackObama spoke those words, you could have heard a pin drop in that waiting area. NO ONE was sleeping, even thought the journey home for most of us took about 3-7 days and it was exhausting.

#obamasletters

When I got back down range, I helped those in my unit register to vote and vote absentee. R/D/i didn& #39;t matter. Though I encouraged them to vote for the candidate who was going to end 15-month deployments and unsustainable troop presence there (promises kept)

#obamasletters

I watched his victory speech at 7 AM as the sun rose over a stifling desert that I had a love/hate relationship with. And I had hope. When I got home from that tour, my third, I knew it was time to hang up my boots. Being a combat medic is a hard, hard job.

#obamasletters

As I ETSed from the Army I knew I wanted to keep serving those I served as a medic. I also began to see my fellow post 9/11 veterans struggling to access VA benefits even as I eased into the system.

So, I got to work getting my degrees to help them.

#obamasletters

Along the way I learned that VA& #39;s PTSD claim requirements were so onerous vets had to identify specific battles to prove PTSD stressors. A virtual impossibility for some, especially WWII/Vietnam vets., etc. VA systematically denied their claims for decades.

#obamasletters

In July 2010, @barackobama made it easier for veterans with PTSD to get the VA benefits and care they needed.

This immediately led to some of the bravest most honorable veterans I know, in severe crisis, getting VA benefits.

#obamasletters https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/weekly-address-president-obama-announces-changes-help-veterans-with-ptsd-receive-be">https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press...

Weekly Address: President Obama Announces Changes to Help Veterans

https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/weekly-address-president-obama-announces-changes-help-veterans-with-ptsd-receive-be

So, I wrote a long letter to @barackobama explaining why I supported him and how grateful I was for the changes he& #39;d implemented at VA. I explained the impact I was seeing them have in my community.

#obamasletters

About four months later I got a notice of a registered letter at the post office. I thought it was a bill. After 7 years in the Army and our own experiences with predatory lenders and bad debt, my family& #39;s budget was messy. I had forgotten I even sent the letter.

#obamasletters

I ignored two notices, but when the third came I finally went to the post office. I knew something was weird when I had to sign for the certified mail three times. Twice on paper and once on the credit card reader.

When I opened it, this is what was inside.

#obamasletters

It says, "Kenneth - thank you for your service, and your support. I couldn& #39;t be prouder. And while I believe we should revere the service of all our troops every day, I will consider additional ways we can mark the contributions of our 9/11 Generation.

#obamasletters

It was pretty awesome to get one of @barackobama& #39;s letters. I was amazed that he took the time to reply.

One group of people was completely unimpressed with my letter though, was my far-right friends and family in my dying central Massachusetts factory town.

#obamasletters

I& #39;d noticed that no matter what I did, whether I served in the Army through three tours in combat, or went to college to help veterans, etc., I just would never be a "Patriot" in some people& #39;s eyes. And that sucked. Especially from my father.

#obamasletters

It was ironic that the same folk who cried #CancelCulture every chance they got, even back then, essentially tried to cancel my patriotism because I supported @barackobama. Especially when I backed up my support with legitimate veterans accomplishments like the EO

#obamasletters

For me, this one of #obamasletters was a step on the path towards me realizing that it wasn& #39;t my patriotism that was flawed, it was the far-right& #39;s image of a "Patriot" (usually found on a t-shirt or bumper sticker) that was flawed.

So, as my friends and family back home...

...remained convinced that I was the traitor in their midst, (the same folks recently cheered the #January6th insurrectionists wearing their "Patriot" t-shirts and violently assaulting police officers at the Capitol) I just learned to tune it out and get to work.

#obamasletters

I learned that real patriotism, actual patriotism, isn& #39;t on a t-shirt. Its found in an aid station where the letter beside your name doesn& #39;t matter. Real patriotism is found in simple, quiet, acts of public service. #patriotismispublicservice

#obamasletters

Acts of public service like @barackobama taking the time, even after a busy day, to write letters to the people who took the time to write to him. Not expecting reward, just doing the somber and sincere work of public service.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG00mM8QEGk

https://www.youtube.com/watch... href="https://twtext.com//hashtag/obamasletters"> #obamasletters

You can see the same kind of public service in leaders like @POTUS @VP or @HillaryClinton. When the far-right tries to cancel their patriotism, and says deplorable things about them, they just get to work. Because #publicserviceispatriotism.

One of #obamasletters taught me that.

I am overwhelmed by the response to this thread. The support will certainly be fuel for my return to work tomorrow helping our veterans and their dependents get the benefits they& #39;ve earned with their service.

Thank y& #39;all so much.

#patriotismispublicservice

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