I witnessed a curious thing on a recent trip to Washington, D.C. Standing at the foot of the former president's statue at the Lincoln Memorial, I watched as nearly two dozen Middle-Eastern tourists took turns posing and taking photos of each other with three smartly-clad American sailors who also happened to be sightseeing there.
I've seen uniformed soldiers politely pose with tourists on other occasions, but this scene was unfolding just days after the murder of Ambassador Stevens and three Navy Seals in Libya. It was happening at the height of the protest at our embassies in the Middle East. Despite that, the three young seamen dutifully posed for photos with folks they could not have been faulted for dismissing.
For me, the long drive to our nation's capital was worth that 10 minutes as I watched with both admiration and pride. As I stood there awestruck at the grace of men so young, I thought that's why those who seek to do our nation harm will never win ... because of the basic goodness of the American people. What a fabulous example of the biblical admonition to be charitable to one's neighbor. They'll never know it, but those three young men gave me, and anyone else who was watching, an example to live by.
Kevin Ritter
Marietta
