Duty, Honor, Country

I just listened to an incredible speech given by General Douglas MacArthur when he was presented the Sylvanus Thayer Award at Westpoint in 1962. General MacArthur titled his address 'Duty, Honor, Country.' Though not a retired military serviceman like two of the members of our team, I have always been taught to respect and uphold the ideals and freedoms of this great country.

Though perhaps not directly related to our training or competitions, I guess this entry has more to do with why we do what we do.

Although we all bobsled for various reasons, I think one of the greatest reasons (and honors) behind our desire to compete in the sport lies in the feeling you get when you represent your country out there on the ice. When you step up to that starting line as a team and you hear the announcer say "USA 1 to the starting line" you can't help but feel a stiffening of the spine.

In his address, General MacArthur talks about the the effects that duty and honor have on soldiers as they serve their country. I really enjoyed listening to his speech because he talks about living higher standards in life and being responsible for ones actions and desires for life.

As I mentioned, two of our team members have served time in our nation's armed forces. Matt was an air traffic controller for the Navy and Brad served as a Marine. Their love for country has always been apparent in the way that they speak about the United States and I have greatly enjoyed sharing the same passion for our nation.

I think the reason I liked General MacArthur's speech is that he wasn't afraid to speak out about honor and virture and hard work and responsibility and respect for our country. In our 'modern' world where every thought and ideal seems so often to be constructed around what is 'Politically Correct' I wonder how his speech would be accepted today? Probably as too conservative and idealistic and too stuffy.

But General MacArthur was right. As I have spent eight years representing my country as an athlete I have come to respect it more and more for the great nation that it is. Whenever I put on a US uniform and take to the ice, I want to do my very best.

I think what MacArthur was really trying to say was this: you choose how you will live your life. You can either live up to your better self, of you can take the easy way out and just go with the flow. It takes effort and discipline to be your best and to put forth that kind of effort, you must have some underlying emotion and ideal that drives you.

So in short, for each and every one of us to succeed at whatever dreams we have for life we need to strife for and develop those three powerful words of 'Duty, Honor, Country.'