Mayor’s Message November 2022

November 2022

Honoring Our Veterans Event

Thank you to the JCVA for asking me to speak today as we celebrate our Veterans.  And thank you all for coming out.  I’m truly grateful to be a part of thanking those who stepped up to serve and defend our great country.  All of our military, the active duty, the guard, the reserves – they all play a key role in defending our nation and keeping us a free people. 
 
I believe that on any day meant to honor our Veterans; we must also take time to thank our military families.  The spouses, the children, the mothers and fathers of those who serve – they provide great service to our country.  Their support gives strength to those who serve, and we must always remember the sacrifices they make as well. 
 
Veterans Day first came into existence as Armistice day.  It marks the anniversary of the 1918 Armistice that set the stage for the end of World War I. Our nation’s leaders saw that we needed a day dedicated to acknowledging the debt that we all owe to those who proudly wore our nation’s uniform.   Whether a veteran served in a time of war or during times of peace, we owe them all that same debt of gratitude.
 
For this Veterans Day ceremony, I would like to talk with you about, well, service and sacrifice – our veterans’ service and sacrifice, but more specifically, what we can all do as citizens to honor their military service.
 
While I am now Mayor of this great city of Johns Creek, it was not always my intent to enter politics on this level. I cut my teeth in Johns Creek politics with Preserve Johns Creek with the simple plan to advocate for our community and our residents’ quality of life.
To say that I was a bit naïve local politics is an understatement. I used to say during college that I was for a two-party system…one party on Friday night and another on Saturday.  Now I’m only good for a party about once a month.
 
But, really, look at our two-party system.  Politics and partisanship have become polarized to an unhealthy and dangerous level.  Issues and solutions have taken a backseat to raw emotion and vitriol.  Just look at the race for the US Senate here in Georgia.  It’s been nationalized, and with it going to a runoff, we will be the target of non-stop advertising for another month.  Does anyone know how much has already been spent in just this race alone on advertising?  Half a Billion dollars, that’s Billion with a B.  Aside from each candidate tearing down their opponent, do you recall any issues or potential solutions to the problems that you face or that your children will face?
 
So, what does this have to do with Veterans Day?  
I’d say EVERYTHING! 
 
Our veterans have walked the walk when it comes to preserving our republic. 
Oftentimes, literally physically. 

Each veteran started their military journey as a young man or woman by pledging their very lives in service to our country.  
 
Service and sacrifice. If that isn’t the description of the role of the veteran, I don’t know what is. 
As Roger Wise reminded us – freedom is not free. Someone has to pay for it. This is certainly true of our veterans, but it can and should be true for each and every one of us.
 
We, as citizens, have a unique responsibility to our veterans, past, and present, to stay engaged and educated in our civic life.  After all, it’s our unique form of government and our way of life that they pledged to defend.  We can help defend it also by keeping it worth defending.
 
In practical terms, the great thing is that it’s not difficult to become a more engaged citizen. You certainly don’t have to run for political office, although we always need good people to do so.
 
We can all become more knowledgeable about the issues and the candidates running for office.  And once elected, We can then hold our officials accountable to a higher standard of ethics and performance.  We can better teach our children the history of our country and the civics behind it. And we should get civics strengthened in our schools.   
 
We owe it to our Veterans to ensure that America remains healthy and strong.  We can do this by staying true to our nation’s best ideals.  
 
There have been times when America has fallen short of its ideals.  These have happened, but they don’t justify turning our back on America or the ideals of our founding.  America was built on limited government, the inalienable rights of the individual, the rule of law, that all men are created equal, and perhaps most of all – the guarantee of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These principles are still very much worth fighting for, maybe even more so today than ever before, and I believe they are the responsibility of us all to uphold.  America must never turn its back on these principles, but rather, we should recommit ourselves to them and to ensuring that they are fully realized for each and every one of our people.
 
I’m convinced that with a renewed sense of national purpose and pride and appreciation for the specialness of our republic,  I’m sure that the military member and those who will one day become veterans will benefit greatly, as will we all.  Military service would be made more focused and more valued and would result in a greater sense of pride among service members.  This, in turn, would make even more obvious the need to care for our vets and their families.  
 
We simply can’t expect our military men and women to defend us overseas if we are not doing everything we can as citizens here at home. 
 
As usual, Abraham Lincoln put it best when he said at Gettysburg, “that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from this earth.”
 
Our country and our community should be a reflection of our best selves. In doing so, we can honor our veterans and their service each and every day.