ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England -- The sweaty grey hairs protruding from his ears glistened in the sunlight streaming through the half-drawn Blue Suede shades. The moment was surreal. In the background, The King sang Amazing Grace on crackling vinyl; out the window foreign tourists poised around a 20-foot tall statue of a young Elvis; and here, we sat at the album-covered countertop alongside our bus driver. We drank thick black coffee and ate pita bread smeared in humus and olive oil. Stopping just outside of Jerusalem, we rested at the Elvis Presley Diner. This convenience store and 1960s era restaurant was Graceland transported with wall-to-wall velvet Elvis's, T-shirts claiming "he lives," and original-recordings rivaling any Tower Records collection. The universal attraction of Rock-n-Roll, paired with globalization, brought everything connecting the King, Memphis and America to this tiny market outpost. Five miles further down the highway graffiti professed hatred of the US; 55 miles away a war against the West raged on. The driver told an engrossing story.
He was a boy during the 1967 Israeli-Arab conflict. Anticipating an attack and because Arab terrorists had rocketed its settlements, the Israeli Air Force preemptively struck Egypt devastating its superior forces. In six days, Israel's combined arms conquered Egypt to the Suez Canal, ousted a disillusioned Jordanian army from Jerusalem and overran Syrian's formidable defenses in the Golan Heights. The astonished and more-modern Arab armies were sorely crushed. The bus driver's dad and uncles voluntarily fought to triple Israel's territory and provide respite from enemy attacks and terrorism. Israel seemed invincible. At the peace settlement, the Jewish state returned swaths of land including the Gaza Strip (now ravaged by civil war and only an hour drive from where we sat) and initiated transnational secular reforms.
Nine years later, the record turned over as this man (and his brothers) fought desperately to preserve Israel in the 1976 October War. Here, the Arab world successfully surprise attacked the Jewish State and nearly succeeded in eradicating the nation. As Suspicious Minds played "Caught in a Trap," the driver remembered acts of valor in ravines long filled-in to build settlements, as if the 31-year old memories were as fresh as his refilled coffee. Although ultimately a victory, the surprise attack on Israel's most holy day, Yom Kippur, demonstrated the state's vulnerabilities. To this day that 50-year old man was willing to sacrifice again...and that was where his story came to a point - a point close to home.
The events of 9-11 exposed our vulnerabilities. Paradoxically - in any true democracy - security protects freedom while freedom invites vulnerability. In Israel, this paradox is prevalent. Every corner place includes an armed guard and the most significant holy sites are entered through metal detectors. Yet, the bus driver remarked how this way of life was both necessary and welcomed - it was ingrained since his birth, a sacrifice of privacy to preserve liberty, and for Americans, it was an emerging reality after 9-11 and globalization.
Our Nation rests on the principles of liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We were founded by diversity - political and religious. We relish our privacy and, on this foundation our Nation should not change. However, we forget diversity allows vulnerability, and vulnerability demands protection. In overlooking this interplay, we inadvertently elevate personal above public good. For example, we complain about stripping for airport security; we cry foul when government agencies tap international phone lines or read emails; we hate the security filters on our internet access at work; we grumble when our Airmen lock-down the base gates; and we even question why our schools make us sign in and out. We love our liberties; we loathe limitations. As Israelis attest, there is a balance.
On this seventh anniversary of 9-11, we need to pause and consider the balance between security and sacrifice. Men and women, our brothers and sisters in arms, are fighting the Global War on Terror preserving our security. Our Airmen stealthy roam this base defending our property and prosperity. Their sacrifices mitigate our vulnerabilities and rarely breach our privacy. Like the soldiers in Jerusalem, our Airmen go strangely unnoticed; they airmen deserve our gratitude.
Although paradoxes have no solutions, their value lies in reflection. 9-11 awoke America to its vulnerabilities and to the realization that preservation of freedoms means acceptance of increased security. 9-11 also opened our eyes to the necessity of burgeoning liberty abroad. The means to increase security is to smartly increase freedom globally and the means to increase freedom globally exposes us to increased vulnerability. Our service to this nation here in England and throughout the world demonstrates an acceptance of the security-sacrifice dilemma and delicate balance. We mitigate the paradox, ensure hope in a future and strangely remain unnoticed.
Noticing Elvis in that land of historical strife encouraged a thought - this icon of Rock-and-Roll exemplifies a universal hope in freedom. The balance between freedom and security, and the paradox of increased democracy demands increased protection justifies why we serve. The bus driver's story and the events of 9-11 point to the same truth - they explain our sacrificial service to securing this Nation's and ultimately democracies' freedoms.
As we departed, The King sang Impossible Dream ....
"To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go"