While my wife and daughter were out of town this weekend, I “treated” myself to something seldom enjoyed: My own, personal “Band of Brothers” marathon. I spent Saturday watching all the disks, looking over the timelines (real history, not just the character’s time) and thinking about what those men went through.The story follows the men of the 101st Airborne, Company E, or “Easy Company.” Each company gets a designation from the phonetic alphabet. They were Easy, and there was Dog, Able, etc. – you get the idea. I’m explaining this so that Easy Company doesn’t get confused with an escort service (sorry, but this is important).

These men went through some of the worst experiences of WWII – literally, hell on earth. They were bombed, shot, burned and suffered exhaustion, freezing cold, hunger and mental trials beyond comprehension. There seem to be no words to adequately describe what they experienced. Still, they persevered largely because of the men leading them. Major Dick Winters is a first-class hero, yet remains humble about his role; Sergeant Carwood Lipton is another cut from that same cloth, and there were many others whose valor and compassion remain unmatched today.

Granted, not all soldiers made it through in that fashion. There were the weak, those who are predisposed to bad behavior or simply lacked character. There were officers who, once in the middle of pitched battles, cracked and became a liability. That happens in civilian life, too, and we all see it sometimes.

Even though their battles were over sixty years ago, their perseverance, courage and devotion stand today as models we should all emulate. There are countless stories like theirs throughout history and some are being written as I write this in battles a world away. The cloud that settled over us after Viet Nam distorted our view of what it means to be valiant and for many years robbed us of the realization that we owe much to our soldiers. To be clear, I did not serve, but know I would be a better man today if I had.

As a man, there are certain things many of us men are somewhat programmed to do. (Rather than start a fight over genetics, anthropology and so on, let me say this is my opinion and, if you don’t like it, keep it to yourself.) Men are meant to serve, and some to lead, but the best know the role of servant leader. Throughout history we men have fought, built, carried, dug and performed much (most?) of the heavy lifting required to carve a new or better life from whatever we are going through. That is our job, our lot and ours is to do so willingly and to the best of our ability.

On the other hand, I see our Congress and much of our government and it seems honor and service are words that have been erased from the majority. I see all around evidence that character and compassion do not carry the value they did. Even men leaving Congress or our state legislatures say that, compared to twenty or even ten years ago, the tone of those bodies is much darker and more about party politics than serving the public; more about winning personally that claiming a real victory for their constituents. They see winning for themselves or the party as the ultimate goal, rather than negotiating a better life for their constituents.

So, where are today’s heroes? Who can step forward and lead? I think we love our soldiers so much because they have a simple yet difficult task to do, and that is fight for a just cause. They demonstrate all the traits we value in human kind and do so selflessly knowing that the cause for which they fight could well take their life. They sacrifice daily for a salary that no elected official would consider worthy. Our police and firemen likewise go forth knowing that each morning they put on their uniform, it could be their last.

Wall Street showed us serious greed and cost the average person thousands of dollars - no honor there. The banking industry showed how slovenly a sector can be by foreclosing improperly on thousands of mortgages - workers scared to do right, managers scared to buck the higher-ups and the higher-ups scared of losing their bonuses. Time after time we hear of scandals; from Bill Clinton to “Dubya” to Charles Rangel to John Edwards to Larry Craig and on and on and on. It seems no one who is supposed to lead these days has the conviction or spine to do so in a manner that inspires the populace. What’s worse, some of those that are supposed to be on the “right” in many cases are sounding like the right wing German party that started around 1921 called the National Socialists, or Nazis. When you consider what I heard some people saying on the radio about gays recently (the debate over “Don’t ask, don’t tell” and the military survey), it was reminiscent of what the old newsreels sounded like; what’s being said about Jews, Muslims and others from the Middle East is no better.

So what am I saying? Look around at those in government whom you elected to office ask if you think you’re getting your money’s worth. Are their actions such that you’d point it out to your children in hopes they’d be inspired? The last post here was praising Chief Bastin, and he is an exemplary man dedicated to bringing the best out in his men and running the department in the most efficient manner possible while building confidence in Lexington’s citizens. He is indeed rare.

Look at the companies you buy from - are they good corporate citizens? What can YOU do to demonstrate character? If we don’t start valuing honor, character, honesty, square-dealing and courage again, Nikita Kruschev’s prophecy of many years ago will come true: “I once said, ‘We will bury you,’ and I got into trouble with it. Of course we will not bury you with a shovel. Your own working class will bury you.”  The choice is ours.