Yesterday, I did something I don't much do. I watched the inauguration. I participated in Carter's, but not by choice. I was part of the U.S. Coast Guard contingent that marched in the parade. As I remember, it was bitter cold that day, too. I also remember that Maya Angelou read a poem at Clinton's, but that's about all. The others are reduced to sound bites.
While I watched, I was filled with a giddy sort of feeling I can only discribe as hope. Now, it's a disturbing thing when a cynic feels hope. Cynicism and hope don't go well together. However, I found myself smiling and feeling good and bubbly. This hope stuff was all right, and I thought about what could happen to help a confirmed cynic, please excuse me, "keep hope alive." For me, the answer is "Prosecute."
In the service, the thrill of a successful mission was always offset by the knowledge that now came the paperwork. You can enjoy a great meal, but someone has to clean up the kitchen. Or the best analogy is that when we have suffered disease or injury, before we can say we are fully recovered, there must be that period of difficult and often painful time known as rehabilitation.
I know, people are saying, "Look to the future, not to the past." But, it's not a matter of future and past, it's a matter of finishing the job, cleaning up the mess. To not do it means there is just more to do next time. It doesn't go away.
What better way to rehabilitate our image in, not only the world, but our own psyche? What better way to prove that we are once again a nation of liberty and laws and that no one can run roughshod over both? What better way to say that change is here than to prosecute, prosecute, prosecute?