This is the time of political debate.  Listening to pundits is one thing.  I love the Fox News show, “The Beltway Boys” and even the so-called Fox All-Stars panel on “Special Report with Brit Hume” (also on Fox News, guess what channel I watch a lot).  Unfortunately, occasionally, I find myself in the company of some random amateur political enthusiast who wants to “debate” over various political positions. 

(I use the term “debate” extremely loosely.  In this sense, “debate” from such people is best defined by what the Janeane Garofalo puppet said in “Team America: World Police”, words to the effect that, “It’s our duty to read the newspapers, and to repeat what we have read on television as if it’s our own opinion.”)

There are certain realities that experience has taught me exist in such conversations.  Number one, no one’s mind is going to change.  Number two, the longer it proceeds the greater the likelihood that someone is going to get angry.

Before even engaging in such a conversation, try this experiment.  Ask a couple of questions:

1. What do you think of __________________________?  [Fill this line in with the name of any celebrity you want.  Michael J. Fox, Madonna, Angelina Jolie, Bono, the Dixie Chicks, Terrell Owens, Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, etc.] 

Allow the person to respond, then ask…

2. What do you think of Paul Ray Smith?

To which you will almost certainly be given the response, “Who is Paul Ray Smith?”  Don’t answer right away.  Let it linger.  Maybe don’t even answer at all.

That response will remind you that the people in this country spend more time concerned with leisure activities (and the comings and goings of celebrities) than they do with the profoundly significant contributions of other Americans.  While the uninformed are entitled to vote like everyone else, that doesn’t mean they are worthy of your time.

Said another way, the term “The Greatest Generation” does not refer to the people who played professional football or starred in movies in the 1940’s.

By the way, Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith, U.S. Army, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on April 4, 2005.  The citation reads as follows:

“The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of Congress the Medal of Honor to Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith, United States Army

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:

Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy near Baghdad International Airport, Baghdad, Iraq on 4 April 2003. On that day, Sergeant First Class Smith was engaged in the construction of a prisoner of war holding area when his Task Force was violently attacked by a company-sized enemy force. Realizing the vulnerability of over 100 fellow soldiers, Sergeant First Class Smith quickly organized a hasty defense consisting of two platoons of soldiers, one Bradley Fighting Vehicle and three armored personnel carriers. As the fight developed, Sergeant First Class Smith braved hostile enemy fire to personally engage the enemy with hand grenades and anti-tank weapons, and organized the evacuation of three wounded soldiers from an armored personnel carrier struck by a rocket propelled grenade and a 60mm mortar round. Fearing the enemy would overrun their defenses, Sergeant First Class Smith moved under withering enemy fire to man a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on a damaged armored personnel carrier. In total disregard for his own life, he maintained his exposed position in order to engage the attacking enemy force. During this action, he was mortally wounded. His courageous actions helped defeat the enemy attack, and resulted in as many as 50 enemy soldiers killed, while allowing the safe withdrawal of numerous wounded soldiers. Sergeant First Class Smith’s extraordinary heroism and uncommon valor are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Third Infantry Division “Rock of the Marne,” and the United States Army.”

The 2006-2007 National Hockey League season started about ten days ago.  Hockey, like football, is a sport that is closely associated with the arrival of fall.  The changing of the leaves, the start of the new school year, and the looming approach of winter are just a number of factors that trigger the awareness of the start of hockey season for the fans.  Which is why a story that I saw in July has more relevance in the month of October. 

Simply stated, I have a very good reason for fans and non-fans alike to cheer for the Carolina Hurricanes.  I am not a Hurricanes fan.  However when I saw the following story, I became one (that is, unless they are playing my beloved Penguins).  More specifically, I became a fan of Glen Wesley, a defenseman for the Stanley Cup-winning Hurricanes.  The following is taken from an article written by John McGourty and was posted on NHL.com on July 19, 2006.  As hockey fans well know, each member of the Stanley Cup winning team is given the opportunity to possess the Cup for a day.  What players have done with the Cup has become the stuff of hockey legend.  As far as I am concerned, no single day with the Cup compares with the following account.

[BEGIN EXCERPT]

"Wesley Shares Stanley Cup with U.S. Marines"

Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Glen Wesley and his wife, Barb, have often passed by Jacksonville, N.C., home of the U.S. Marines' Camp Lejeune, when they take their three children to the beach. Camp Lejeune is the East Coast base for Marines.

Wesley knew that many Marines injured in battle rehabilitate at the base and he is aware of the debt that we all owe to these valiant soldiers.

As a member of the Stanley Cup-winning Hurricanes, Wesley was entitled to one day with the Stanley Cup and he decided to spend part of that day with members of Wounded Warrior Barracks at Camp Lejeune.

Wesley hoped it would help pay respect and raise the spirits of the wounded Marines and that it did.

Glen, Barb and their three kids spent last Thursday with the II Marine Expeditionary Force, sharing the Stanley Cup.

"The idea to visit came from my wife and me," said Wesley. "We pass by this base all the time, and we wanted to stop by to visit some of the Marines here."

It was an amazing visit. The Marines joked with Wesley about his injuries and theirs. Some compared the severity of the injuries that he's suffered stopping pucks and being banged into the boards to the injuries they've received from suicide bombers, improvised explosive devices and conventional ordnance.

...

Wesley brought the Stanley Cup into the Wounded Warrior Barracks and placed it on a table. The Marines gathered round to read the names inscribed on the Cup's rings and point out their favorite players and teams. Then they engaged Wesley in a round of questions and answers.

...

The Wounded Warrior Barracks house 43 Marines who were injured while fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, Lt. Col. Tim Maxwell told Jennifer Brevorka of the Raleigh News and Observer.

"The barracks provide a sense of purpose and support for men who suffered injuries that keep them separated from their units and families," Maxwell said.

The group, as befits a military unit, even has its own ranking officers.

Glen Wesley was able to lift the spirits of the Marines at Camp Lejeune.

One of them hails from a suburban Philadelphia hockey hotbed.

"I've been a big hockey fan since I was a kid, so I was pretty excited when I found out we were going to get to see the Stanley Cup," said Sgt. Jason Simms, 2nd squad leader at the Wounded Warrior Barracks.

"It's the oldest trophy in sports and it's been through a lot," said the native of Havertown, Pa., who added he believes the legend that the Stanley Cup brings good luck to anyone who touches it.

...

When the Marines were through asking Wesley questions, he had a few of his own. Glen and Barb asked the Marines about their hometowns, combat experiences, injuries and prognoses. Both were impressed with Marines' positive outlook and camaraderie.

Wesley is a very low-key guy, soft-spoken and lacking in bluster. Humility is a big part of his makeup. If the Marines were expecting a big-time sports star with an entourage and ego to match, Wesley doesn't fit the bill. Like most Marines, Wesley is quiet, disciplined, skilled at what he does and most comfortable in a team environment.

[END EXCERPT]

For a hockey player, the Stanley Cup is a trophy of mythic proportions.  The fact that Glen Wesley, a defenseman from Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, chose to bring the Cup onto CLNC speaks volumes about the kind of person he is.  While he may not have made this visit intending to make a fan out of a guy sitting in Massachusetts, that is exactly what he has done.  Go 'Canes (just go easy on my Pens).

In the last couple of weeks, the country has seen three incidents of school violence.  Any reasonable person can't help but ask, "What is this world coming to?"  It is times like this that I recall one of the stories from the Columbine massacres.  It is the account of one of the young students, Corey DePooter, who chose to go into the library during lunch to study and who made the ultimate sacrifice to save others.  From the May 4, 2000, Rocky Mountain News:
"Columbine victim's dream fulfilled" by Holly Kurtz:

[START EXCERPT]

He was the kind of boy who refused to play the bad guy in childhood games of cops and robbers. Who admitted right off he had been speeding when a trooper stopped him, then ended up befriending the man who gave him the ticket.

Who wanted nothing more than to be a Marine, until the bullets that flew April 20, 1999, at Columbine High put an end not only to his lifelong dream, but also to his life.

Wednesday at Chapel Hill Cemetery, Corey DePooter's dream did come true. He was named an honorary Marine in a ceremony held beside his grave.

"Every time we see a Marine, we'll probably put Corey's face on that uniform," said his grandmother, Fern Hamilton, after the ceremony by Denver-based Marine Air Control Squadron 23.

Soon after DePooter's death, Hamilton had asked Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Ricardo Davila whether the Marines might hold some sort of ceremony for her grandson.

People had been asking her where to send flowers in DePooter's memory. That got Hamilton thinking about what her grandson would have wanted more than all the flowers in the world.

She remembered the family photo where a young Corey was wearing his father's Army medal on his suit. She remembered how proud her grandson had been when, at age 7, soldiers made a fuss over the master sergeant bars she had gotten sewn on the fatigues she had bought him to wear when they toured two military bases.

"What a small master sergeant!" they all said.

The Marines allow military funerals only for former military members. So Hamilton asked if a couple of Marines might just attend her grandson's funeral.

"We sent 20," Davila recalled.

Through this, Davila got to know the family, including the story eyewitnesses told of DePooter's last minutes in the Columbine library where he was killed.

Not only did he encourage other students to stay still and calm, he also used his body to shield a boy and girl crouching behind him.

"Our son is alive today, at least in part, thanks to your son's courage and bravery," one library survivor's parents wrote in a letter to the DePooters.

Davila researched regulations to find out what could be done, and found out about the honorary Marine program.

"I think he would have made an outstanding Marine," Davila said.

...

[END EXCERPT]

Adversity does not build character, it reveals it.  The character of this young man in the face of the events of that day is both tragic and inspiring.  It is virtually impossible not to be encouraged by Corey DePooter's actions, literally putting himself in harm's way in order to help protect others.