"We the People" was how it all began and "WE" had a good run … nearly 250 years. Tragically, though, "WE" died somewhere along the way — RECENTLY. Today it's all, "ME! ME! ME!" often followed by a two-word term-of-endearment [sic]. And, NO, it's not "LOVE YOU!"
Something must be done if America is to survive.
Can "WE" be resuscitated or resurrected?
Diametric opposite of "ME! ME! ME! XXXX YOU!"
MAYBE! But it's going to require combat … employing combat tactics and "the Spirit of WE" that's applied constantly in battle. It's the diametric opposite of "ME! ME! ME! XXXX YOU!"
At some ominous split-second in combat, you'll look death in the eye KNOWING you are going to DIE doing what you are about to do … THEN, YOU DO IT. Most often it's to protect brothers around you. And, amazingly, those wartime brothers are doing the very same thing. It's selfless service — "WE not ME" (TIME WARP: 1969/70 Anarchy … Recycle 2019/20 Dec. 3, 2020)— in action. That's what's needed today.
Combat epitomizes "WE not ME" like few other worldly experiences. As I've said before: "Logic can't explain that selfless commitment — ‘WE' versus ‘ME' in combat — to someone who hasn't been there; not in a way they'll feel to the core of their very being like those who've lived it. For anyone who has, those life and death fleeting moments will reside deep within … FOREVER! And for most, they're 100% about ‘YOU' and ‘WE' — 0% ‘ME'" (The Gully of the Shadows of Death Disproved Critical Race Theory Over 50-Years Ago, June 29, 2021).
So, to be perfectly clear, "WE not ME" is not some worthless academic theorem. As an Army draftee, I lived it with my Delta Company brothers back in the Vietnam dark ages. However, it took me 50-years — 1969 to 2019 — to find words to describe it. For decades, I just told people, "having lived through it (Vietnam), I wouldn't trade the experience; had I not lived through it, I probably wouldn't say that." Probably not.
The reason I wouldn't trade the experience is because of the bond formed with my brothers in combat. Looking back, there was something to cherish about it. It was about a life best lived, oddly serene … bordering on spiritual … eternal … but extremely difficult to put into words. When every person focuses on YOU, not ME, it makes WE a powerful force that MIGHT be beatable, but it's 100% UNBREAKABLE. Brothers would DIE for one another … and did.
Words to describe it finally came to me in 2019, unexpectedly as a poem, "the Spirit of WE." The shorthand description/subtitle, "WE not ME," came along soon thereafter.
The Spirit of WE
The Spirit of WE(1)["WE not ME"]
A life best lived should always be about YOU,
It should never be about ME;
But, the times to really cherish and hold on to
Are those all too fleeting moments in life
That are truly about WE.
Nowhere are there more "all too fleeting moments in life" than in combat nor is anything more "truly about WE" than combat. "WE" results in more brothers alive … many more.
Not being a poet, I still wonder if I heard the poem somewhere, but my searches have failed to find it or another author. Regardless, it describes — for ME — what I was missing and holding onto from Vietnam and how one's life SHOULD be lived … for others.
Helen Keller
"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."
"Together" is what's needed to resuscitate or resurrect "WE" today.
With America's semiquincentennial — 250th — anniversary coming up in 2026, things aren't looking good for "We the People" even being remembered, much less celebrated. Woke cancel culture rules today, so the semiquincentennial will almost certainly be on their hit list … CANCELLED! But, somehow, "ME, ME, ME the People" just doesn't work, particularly with the two-word term-of-endearment after it. "LOVE YOU" … NOT!
For America to remain the Land of the Free, military veterans and other patriots must band together to become a "WE not ME" force against "ME! ME! ME! XXXX YOU!"
Employing "the Spirit of WE" selfless service, U.S. combat forces are never defeated on foreign battlefields and, hopefully, the same will be true on today's domestic battlefield. Sadly, wars are still lost — Vietnam … Afghanistan — but they're lost in Washington, DC, a place where "the Spirit of WE" does NOT exist. The domestic battle could be lost there as well.
Perhaps the latest debacle in Afghanistan will serve as a wakeup call for Americans as to the existential threat posed by "ME! ME! ME! XXXX YOU!" You don't expect those words from the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department, etc., but that's the gist of their response regarding Afghanistan.
American lives everywhere — here and abroad — just became more vulnerable to global and domestic terrorism. If there was ever a time when "the Spirit of WE" — "WE not ME" — was needed nationwide, it's today.
What will kill America?
"ME! ME! ME! XXXX YOU!"
SO, PATRIOTS, STEP UP NOW!!!
I believe "the Spirit of WE" is an original work but can't rule out that I heard the poem sometime and it stuck with me. If that's the case, I would happily cite the poet.
R.W. Trewyn Ph.D.——Bio and Archives
Ron Trewyn was a university professor 44-years, working in upper administration the last 28. Drafted into the Army in January 1968, he attended the Army NCO School after basic and advanced infantry training, graduating as a Staff Sergeant, E-6. In 1969, he served as a Platoon Sergeant and Platoon Leader in the Republic of Vietnam with Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry, 199th Light Infantry Brigade until wounded in action. After serving in the Army, he completed his undergraduate degree and earned a Ph.D. in microbial physiology with minors in biochemistry and genetics. Following 4-years of postdoctoral cancer research, he joined the medical school faculty and Comprehensive Cancer Center at Ohio State University for 16-years. Thereafter, he served in a variety of central administration roles at Kansas State University, retiring as Vice President for Research Emeritus.
"We the People" was how it all began and "WE" had a good run … nearly 250 years. Tragically, though, "WE" died somewhere along the way — RECENTLY. Today it's all, "ME! ME! ME!" often followed by a two-word term-of-endearment [sic]. And, NO, it's not "LOVE YOU!"
Something must be done if America is to survive.
Can "WE" be resuscitated or resurrected?
