Thoughts On Votiing From Iraq

The article challenging the idea of sitting out the next election generated a lot of response.  Several of you offered your thoughts. Over the weekend I received a message from a man who deserves to be heard. I give my space proudly and humbly to one of our heroes protecting me and you.

I recently read Dr. Dobson's comments about sitting this election out. While I have always appreciated his leadership in matters of family, I beg him to recant his statement. If people who look up to him are to follow suit, I fear we may end up with the worse of two evils in charge of the executive branch. I risk my life daily in the skies of Iraq so you all may have the privilege of voting. Please don't throw that away. I am not a fan of any of the candidates either, but I will vote and my vote will go to the one whose values are most like my own. I fear if the wrong people come to power, we will pull out of Iraq pre-maturely which means two things. 1. It means that my friends have died in vain. 2. It means that our families are at a much greater risk from another attack on the home soil. Contrary to what Mr. Obama thinks, Al Q'aida is in Iraq. They haven't submerged so as to re-emerge at some later date. We are chasing them down and killing and capturing them daily. I believe they haven't been able to plan and execute another horrible attack simply because we have them on the run. Their thoughts are only of survival and we must continue to pursue them to keep them at bay. Your vote tells me that you care about the sacrifices of my friends' lives. It also tells me that you care about the sacrifices of all of our military families. About the men and women, who though happily married, play single-parent for months at time. My wife has been a single mom for 8 of the last 13 months and this cycle will continue. It is a sacrifice we gladly make to keep our friends and families safe, to keep our nation free and to protect your rights. Please, exercise those rights.

-David, Major, United States Air Force
Balad Air Base, Iraq

Pray for David. Pray for his friends and colleagues. And thank you David for your service, your wisdom and your heart. We are blessed by men and women like you.

Dave Burchett is an Emmy Award winning television sports director, author, and Christian speaker. He is the author of When Bad Christians Happen to Good People and Bring'em Back Alive: A Healing Plan for those Wounded by the Church. You can reply by linking through daveburchett.com.