IT WAS my second cup of coffee for the day, and I used a new mug with the above title of this column, inscribed in huge capital letters, each ending with a period. Some sort of slogan, I suppose. The eye-catching words so engulfed my attention as sip after sip of the coffee invigorated me.
The symbolic design on the mug â United States Coast Guard 1790 â prompted me to goggle gocoastguard.com. Since its inception in 1790, imagine how the Coast Guards must have adhered to their mission down the years: Honor. Respect. Devotion to Duty.
Can you and I imbibe the underlying mandate instilled in the above words? Simple words fraught with meaning for you and me, in fact, not only for the Coast Guards themselves, but for all of us to observe in our everyday activities and relationships.
But more about the Coast Guard of Uncle Sam (the popular acronym for United States), I learned from the Internet (gocoastguard.com): âThe Coast Guard is one of our nationâs five military services. Our core valuesâhonor, respect, and devotion to duty, are the guiding principles used to defend and preserve the United States of America. We protect the personal safety and security of our people; the marine transportation system and infrastructure; our natural and economic resources; and the territorial integrity of our nationâfrom both internal and external threats, natural and man-made. We protect these interests in U.S. ports, inland waterways, along the coasts, and on international waters.â
Bravo! Can anything be more patriotic?
Iâve been dishing out column after column for two decades, yes, 20 years of weekly datelines that made this oldster crazy (now 83 years young, ye-heey!). When a topic pops up, I come up with a media streak like what youâre reading right now, big words inscribed on a cup: Honor. Respect. Devotion to Duty.
In our daily undertakings, those can be our very own watchwords, too, yes for me and for you. (jclagoc@gmail.com/PN)
