This summer, American Legion Post No. 86 in Cedartown sponsored me to attend the Georgia Boys State summer leadership action program. I knew that it was an honor to be sponsored, but had no idea what a privilege it was until I got there. When I first arrived at Riverside Military Academy on day one, I was busy. I was given just enough time to get my room in order until I had to be somewhere.
The first day you begin electing your “city” officials, and by the end of the week you have a full state government running. In my city I was elected city attorney, and the Federalist Party state representative to the State Federalist Committee to develop a party platform. There is also a house consisting of eight people from each county, and there are four counties. There is a senate with four representatives from each county, and a governor and his cabinet.
I was elected by my county to be a senator, along with three very intelligent guys. The first day in the senate, the two political parties, the Federalist and the Nationalist, select a representative to run for the president pro tempore of the senate. If you did not know, the president pro tempore presides over the senate while the lieutenant governor is not present. I was selected by the senators from my party to have a chance to be elected to the pro tempore position.
The Nationalist representative and myself had to walk out of the room while the 14 senators voted on who would hold the position. Low and behold when I walked into the room, I found out that I had been elected to the position of president pro tempore. Then, as a senate we all got to work for the next three days. We heard bills that sought to fix real world problems—a bill that wanted to raise awareness of the child sex trafficking ring in Augusta (Ga.), a bill that wanted to help facilitate antibiotic research in our state, and a bill to give tax cuts to major corporations that want to operate in our state.
But what made the Boys State experience, for lack of a better term—awesome—were not the things we participated in but the people you were surrounded by. That includes the Junior Staff, the Legionnaires, and the guys in the program. Everyone had a sense of what a privilege it is to be an American, and yes I know that sounds corny and cliché; I somewhat thought the same thing, but the Legionnaires projected the patriotism I felt and I know the other guys felt.
I always thought I understood the sacrifices people made, and what the sacrifices meant to them. But, I found out I really had no clue. The respect the veterans had for the United States, the country they chose to fight for, was inspiring. The respect the men had for each other was even more inspiring. They joked with one another, and it was funny, but the sense of camaraderie and respect was always there, and it was awesome to see that. It made you crave to be part of a brotherhood like they all are, and to be a part of something like they are.
I had the chance to sit in an auditorium and listen to a Vietnam War veteran tell stories of the men he fought along side in the jungles of Vietnam. The veteran told stories ranging from going to rescue friendly snipers, to Pvt. Dewey almost blowing up the battalion commander.
Undoubtedly the greatest speakers we listened to were two older men who fought against the Japanese in World War II. Both men were at Iwo Jima—everyone knows the picture of the flag being raised by the Marines; that’s Iwo Jima—and one them was at Okinawa. One of the veterans broke into tears on stage at the thought of his fallen friends, then he stopped crying and spoke of the future of America and how he knew it was in good hands, speaking directly to my generation. Hairs stuck up on my neck.
When the two men walked off stage they were greeted with a standing ovation and everyone in the auditorium chanting “USA! USA! USA!” Both men broke into tears—I even got a little misty-eyed.
It was without a doubt one of the most inspirational moments of my life.
So, what I am trying to say about Boys State leadership action program is that it is not such a great experience because of what you do, but because of whom you are around. When you look into the eyes of the men you talk to, you automatically know that they believe in you. The men love their country, and they love their jobs, and they are entrusting our generation with what they love and fought for.
The motto for Boys State is “A week that will last a lifetime.” It is truly that—a week that will last a lifetime.
