Political Quotes

“I rise to talk about an American memory and the absence of a memory, and the lesson I draw both from the memory and the absence compels me to submit a resolution. First, the memory. I would submit that the most known photograph in the history of the United States is the Alfred Eisenstadt photo of an American sailor kissing a woman in Times Square on V-J Day, August 14, 1945, at the end of World War II. If one Googles ``V-J Day photo,'' you will find more than 31 million links. Joy, celebration, gratitude--the photo says it all. It was important to celebrate the end of that war and to thank those from that ``greatest generation'' who had made it possible by serving, and we have continued to celebrate them, most recently in the recent commemoration of the 70th anniversary of D-day. Now the absence of a memory. Where was that photo, where was that iconic moment of joy and celebration at the end of the Vietnam war? There was none. No iconic photo, no ritual moment of celebration and thanks--and that was a mistake. This generation of Americans has lived through a war that began in the days after 9/11. I recently heard a student about the same age as our pages say, ``While I don't know war, all I've known is war.'' The combination of Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and New Dawn has lasted 13 years. It is the longest period of war in the history of the United States.…”