Don’t Call Me Ma’am

I admit to a very strong bias. I was on active duty in the Marine Corps for four years. My son is a Marine and I have the greatest respect for those men and women who have served and are now serving. I have a dear friend who is 84 years old, a retired Sergeant Major and a veteran of Iwo Jima, Korea, and two tours in Vietnam. He puts it succinctly, “I hate civilians who don’t get it.” I understand his frustration.

 Yesterday I was at Balboa Naval Hospital visiting some recently wounded Marines. I am always humbled to be in such company. Men who will live with the scars for the rest of their lives are thanking me for taking the time to visit. To a man, they want to get back to their unit and back to the fight. They “get it.” They are real heroes who understand the true costs of freedom.

This morning I saw a video made by David Zucker known for the Naked Gun series, Airplane, and American Carol and starring several of my friends. He takes a well-deserved shot at an elected official from California who requested a decorated General call her “senator” rather than “ma’am.” I think my 84 year-old friend would agree, this senator doesn’t “get it.”