Today, all eyes are on Los Angeles, as people fly in from around the world to immortalize a music legend. The City of Angels is inundated with throngs of adoring fans, and the city’s LAPD and fire department are on duty at L.A.’s Staples Center. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is asking L.A. residents for donations to fund the memorial, estimated to cost $3.8 million dollars! That’s for a city that is already in financial crisis, and in a state facing economic collapse.
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It’s all over the news, from television to radio, Internet, and newspapers. One airline even sold out of tickets due to fans flying in from around the world, even if they did not win the random lottery drawing to be seated at the memorial ceremony. In the last few weeks, this event virtually overwhelmed local newscasts to such a level that KABC (Los Angeles) nearly devoted entire newscasts to this story alone. It really says a lot about a value system that overwhelmingly honors celebrity over heroism. The sideshow circus taking place in Los Angeles today really will include a circus, as Barnum & Bailey are bringing in elephants for entertainment.
Meanwhile, Colonel Kenneth L. Reusser, the most decorated U.S. Marine Corp aviator in history, died at the age of 89. Shot down five times in three wars, he earned two Navy Crosses, four Purple Hearts and two Legions of Merit among his astounding 59 medals. Colonel Reusser was a true American hero whose passing was largely ignored on news stations, which instead chose to focus all of their energies on “celebrity.”
And just yesterday…”Bombs and bullets killed seven U.S. troops Monday, making it the deadliest day for U.S. forces in Afghanistan in nearly a year — and a sign that the war being fought in the Taliban heartland of the south and east could be expanding north.”
So today I am pushing the media circus aside and forwarding the story of Colonel Reusser, who deserved far more honor and attention than he received. In all honesty, we could never thank him enough for what he and other American heroes have, and continue to do, for all of us. He was truly a wonderful man, courageous soldier, and honorable human being.
julialombardo