bluejean politics

Jeremy Dunlap: A Commissioned 9/11 Writing

2011-09-10T19:15:00.001-07:00

About The Privileged Burden of Freedom

Commissioned for 9/11 Remembrance

I was greatly honored to receive an email from Phil Taylor of The American Fallen Soldiers Project asking if I would be interested in writing an address (speech) in lieu of the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Without hesitation I said yes. Phil shared the below writing on September 9th at a portrait presentation to the family of a fallen soldier. This is not a blog or a writing, it is a short speech, an address. Therefore, it is written in certain ways grammatically with reason.

9/11 Memorial

The Privileged Burden of Freedom

In the midst of the darkest of times, while evil attempted to wave its finger of intolerance, Martin Treptow made a pledge. Leaving his small town barbershop, Martin chose to fight in the war to end all wars, World War I. While carrying a message between battalions, Martin paid the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of freedom. When he was recovered, on his person was found a journal and in this journal, Martin penned under the heading of "My Pledge" these words:

America must win this war. Therefore, I will work, I will

save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully

and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle

depended on me alone.

And here we find ourselves, a nation remembering another day in our history that will
"live in infamy." A day in which evil revealed its face of destruction only to be pushed
back by the common quiet strength of America, our love of freedom. For the attempt of
darkness to encompass the day is always thwarted and defeated by a single flicker of
candle light. And so it is when tyranny attempts to overrun freedom. While many in
the media make much of the darkness of the moment, much more must be made of the
failure of terrorism in that hour. While 9/11 demonstrated the depravity of our enemy,
9/12 demonstrated the one commonality of the American soul -freedom. While 9/11
displayed a temporary darkness on the American landscape, the sun rose on the morning
of September 12 as if it were quoting Longfellow:

. . . Sail on, O Ship of State!

Sail on, O Union, strong and great!

Humanity with all its fears,

With all the hopes of future years,

Is hanging breathless on thy fate!

For truly the fate of humanity, and hope for many hopeless around the world, depends
upon this beacon of hope and freedom that you and I call home, America. Yes Martin
-America must win this war.

Moreover, with the 9/11 memorials come a somber warning from history: when a
people become pacifist in the face of evil, in the eye of tyranny, surely evil can prevail.
For the destruction reigned upon Germany and the regions of Europe during the dark
days of World War II demonstrates what can happen when freedom is relinquished. And
to this day, German pastor Martin Niemoller brings this lesson of history to the present
with his haunting words:

They came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up

because I wasn't a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because

I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak

up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up

because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to

speak up -for me.

Niemoller reminds us that freedom is not guaranteed, unless the good of a civilization
stands against the intolerant forces of wrong. For freedom must be desired, must be
cherished, and must be the life-breathe of a people. And you and I bear this privileged
burden of liberty. And from 9/11, that is what we cannot forget.

So what is our privileged burden of freedom? The willingness to sacrifice. To follow
those who have blazed this trail of freedom before us, who lost their fortunes, which gave of themselves to the point of breaking and then gave that much more. And yes possibly following their path, the willingness of our forbearers, in giving of our own lives. Our privileged burden of freedom is found in the simple willingness to bear the pledge given to us by Martin Treptow so many decades ago: to work, to save, to sacrifice, to fight cheerfully to do our utmost as if the issue of the whole struggle, depends upon me and me alone. For America, in the face of tyranny, must always win the war.

We do not take lightly the potential sacrifice that comes with freedom. But may we be
reminded of the words of President Kennedy, and proclaim to the nations of the world
whether they wish us "well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any
hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of
liberty."

May we join together, honoring those from the first fight waged against this current
darkness on flight 93 to those who have passed in the line of battle since; and say in one
unison voice against the powers of evil: We are Americans, and we have yet to begin
the fight. And may we, quoting Churchill, who too faced great tyranny, proclaim to
those enslaved and to those who enslave, "We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire. Neither the sudden shock of battle, nor the long-drawn trials of vigilance and exertion will wear us down."

Our prayer shall be this privileged burden of freedom. When the time comes and we
have forged another hill in the crusade against darkness, we will remember the statue of
those Marines lifting high our Flag. With that same willingness, we will place our hands
on a pole dawning Old Glory and we too shall push and lift that Flag high. And on that
mountaintop, as we raise that Flag high we will be proclaiming to all: that freedom has
triumphed, that yet again darkness has lost, and that the light of freedom, Her glorious
light, shall never perish from this earth. Yes Martin, we too shall win this war. Amen.

(C) 2011 by Jeremy Dunlap (Jer). The Privileged Burden of Freedom commissioned by
The American Fallen Soldier Project.

Jeremy Dunlap (Jer) is national speaker, writer, and trainer. Working with clients across the country, Jeremy Dunlap (Jer) holds no higher honor than his work with the United States Military and Special Forces Community, both which he dearlyloves. www.JeremyDunlap.com

Jeremy Dunlap: The American Fallen Soldier Project Slide Show

2011-08-30T06:51:00.000-07:00

I am mulling around the idea of rewriting some of the stories concerning our soldiers, particuarly Special Forces, who have fought heroically. In the meantime, my friends at The American Fallen Soldier Project released this slide show. The slide show captures the moments when Phil Taylor (artist, executive director, and co-founder) presented the family of Matthew Axelson a portrait.

You can find a litte more information on Matt here.

The American Fallen Soldier Project here

Jeremy Dunlap: Seal Tribute

2011-08-29T18:50:00.001-07:00

The Meaning of Courage

It was Sir Winston Churchill that said, "Of all virtues, courage is the greatest, because without courage there are no other virtues." The committed courage of our fallen SF (Special Forces) warriors leads each and every one of us to examine our lives, to examine our American leadership. The mottos of special forces, particularly the Navy Seals that speak of leading, following, never quitting, always on time, always on target and so-forth are great lessons to us all in the general public, if we will stop to learn. Their courage to examine a mission that all too often has been deemed "impossible" by others and simply say, "send me" speaks volumes about our own lives. As a nation in desperate times, we could learn more than a few lessons on courage from our Special Forces community and from these men whose lives we mourn today. Churchill was correct, without courage; surely we do lack so many other virtues.

It was courage that founded this nation. It was the courage of belief by a young Thomas Jefferson to pen the words that enflame our hearts to this day that we "are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights." And it was resilient courage that brought Lincoln to the point of despair over a divided nation. Standing at Gettysburg his courageous words "a government of, by, and for the people" still pushes the light of freedom forward to this day. It was the hopeful courage of emigrants sailing the vast seas, landing in a new America and building Her with their own bare hands. It was courage of resolve that brought us face to face with a Nazi Tyrant and left him, defeated. And it was the courage of leadership that spoke deep into the hearts of those enslaved by Communist Soviet Union, which truly did leave Communism "on the ash heap of history."

And here we are today, a nation of people waiting and wanting for the same courageous leadership of our past. And while we are so often let down by the current elected, it is the volunteers of the United States Navy Seals that remind us of our brave history fueling our resilience, giving us hope, strengthening our resolve, that courageous leadership exists, that there are still "a few good men" waiting to "stand in the gap." For today, this is why we admire these, the fallen and their brotherhood with such admiration. No, it is not the Hollywood interpretation of their training that dawns our heart to salute. Today, we stand at attention for them, because so many nights while we were comfortably asleep in our beds, they were standing at attention for us.

And make no mistake about it, this courage that the United States Navy Seals hold is not skin deep or built through rigorous training. This sort of "stand in the gap" courage is that of a moral fabric. This form of courage that moves these, "the best of the best" is the same virtue of which Churchill spoke. And it is the same virtue-based courage found in the Scripture passage when a young prophet answered the call saying:

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’
And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’These are the men of the United States Navy Seals. May God bless the families of the fallen, those still bearing the Trident, and the sacrifice of both. May God grant us leadership in our nation that understands such raw courage. And May God bless the country that these Seals so deeply love and serve. And finally, as my young daughter and I so often pray, "may God protect the United States Navy Seals and all our Soldiers, as they protect us."
Amen.
　
Jeremy Dunlap (Jer) is national speaker, writer, and trainer. Working with clients across the country, Jeremy Dunlap (Jer) holds no higher honor than his work with the United States Military and Special Forces Community, both which he dear ly loves.

A Tribute and Memorial

A New Generation by Jer Dunlap

2011-07-07T04:39:00.000-07:00

The words of one generation now pierce deep into my generation and the generation of the future:
Our answer is the world's hope; it is to rely on youth. The cruelties and the obstacles of this swiftly changing planet will not yield to obsolete dogmas and outworn slogans. It cannot be moved by those who cling to a present which is already dying, who prefer the illusion of security to the excitement and danger which comes with even the most peaceful progress. This world demands the qualities of youth: not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the life of ease -- a man like the Chancellor of this University. It is a revolutionary world that we all live in; and thus, as I have said in Latin America and Asia and in Europe and in my own country, the United States, it is the young people who must take the lead. Thus you, and your young compatriots everywhere have had thrust upon you a greater burden of responsibility than any generation that has ever lived.

"There is," said an Italian philosopher, "nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things." Yet this is the measure of the task of your generation and the road is strewn with many dangers.

First is the danger of futility; the belief there is nothing one man or one woman cando against the enormous array of the world's ills -- against misery, against ignorance, or injustice and violence. Yet many of the world's great movements, of thought and action, have flowed from the work of a single man. A young monk began the Protestant reformation, a young general extended an empire from Macedonia to the borders of the earth, and a young woman reclaimed the territory of France. It was a young Italian explorer who discovered the New world, and 32 year old Thomas Jefferson who proclaimed that all men are created equal. "Give me a place to stand," said Archimedes, "and I will move the world." These men moved the world, and so can we all. Few will have the greatness to bend history; but each of us can work to change a small portion of the events, and in the total of all these acts will be written the history of this generation. Thousands of Peace Corps volunteers are making a difference in the isolated villages and the city slums of dozens of countries. Thousands of unknown men and women in Europe resisted the occupation of the Nazis and many died, but all added to the ultimate strength and freedom of their countries. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage such as these that the belief that human history is thus shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.-Robert F. Kennedy, June 6, 1966 Address to Cape Town University, Cape Town, South Africa

JerSpeaks Releases New Online Bio for Jeremy Jer Dunlap

2011-07-06T08:34:00.001-07:00

Jeremy Dunlap Bio
Known as “Jer”, Jeremy Dunlap has traveled as a speaker and trainer from Hawaii, to Connecticut, to Canada and beyond. Jeremy Dunlap brings two decades worth of public speaking experience to every event. With a focus on leadership, consultative selling and relationship building, Jeremy Dunlap has product and industry knowledge as well as coaching and change management. Specifically, Jeremy Dunlap on behalf of Baker Communications has been working in the banking and financial sector for the past two years as an integral player in the implementation of a cultural shift and new sales philosophy in an effort to unify three different financial organizations merged through acquisition. As a result, Jeremy Dunlap has an intimate knowledge of the inner workings of branch banking, associated roles and the daily challenges experienced in that industry.

Prior to his dedication and service with bank facilitation, Jeremy Dunlap shared his instructional talents as one of Baker Communications core facilitative team members bringing soft skills training to the hundreds of clients BCI serves specifically in the technology, manufacturing, and financial industries. With Baker Communications, Jeremy Dunlap’s client list among numerous others includes PNC Bank, Capitol One Bank, SAP, Dell, NASA, BP/Castrol, and Cox Communications. However, Jeremy Dunlap takes the most satisfaction and pride in his work with the men and women of the United States Military. Within that arena, Jeremy Dunlap has had the honor of working with the United States Army, the United States Navy, the United States Marine Corp, and the United States Air Force. As well, Jeremy Dunlap holds the high privilege of offering communications and negotiations training to the men of naval Special Forces.
As an accomplished writer, Jeremy Dunlap is recognized for his insights including his most recent contributions to Violated Online published by Dunham books. In addition, Jeremy Dunlap is a contracted writer with one of America’s premiere online reputation management firms.

Jeremy Dunlap has been speaking to audiences since the age of fifteen and ran for public office at the age of eighteen. A former political consultant, Jeremy Dunlap personally helped manage a “long-shot” State Senate race to victory, worked in the West Virginia State Capitol, and consulted numerous local and state political campaigns. As a Delegate Alternate, Jeremy Dunlap was one of the youngest members of the 1996 Republican National Convention.

Jeremy Dunlap left politics and spent a decade in church ministry and youth event speaking. He has been a contracted speaker and trainer for one of the nation’s top online job placement companies, speaking to thousands of high school students, college students, and parents. As well, Jeremy Dunlap has experience in both radio and television mediums.

Jeremy Dunlap: Fourth of July

2011-07-04T14:01:00.000-07:00

I grew up celebrating freedom, the 4th of July, and what it meant to be American. As a kid, I assumed that everyone did so. Even as an adult I have what we call the "political room" containing Americana decor, political memorabilia, Ronald Reagan collection and so-on-so forth. America, with all of her faults and problems, is still one of few countries, if not the only country, where people clamor to "get in" to make a better life. America, in my opinion, is still the shining city on a hill.

In these most interesting times in our country, our churches, our society, and the war, I think point to the words posted below. They come from the eulogy of Robert Kennedy. The words are a paraphrased speech that was given in 1966 in South Africa. These words forty-some years old - still apply to our world, our country - today.

It is a revolutionary world we live in, and this generation at home and around the world has had thrust upon it a greater burden of responsibility than any generation that has ever lived. Some believe there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world's ills. Yet many of the world's great movements, of thought and action, have flowed from the work of a single man. A young monk began the Protestant reformation; a young general extended an empire from Macedonia to the borders of the earth; a young woman reclaimed the territory of France; and it was a young Italian explorer who discovered the New World, and the 32 year-old Thomas Jefferson who [pro] claimed that "all men are created equal.

These [people] moved the world, and so can we all. Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation. *It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped.* Each time a [person] stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, [they send] forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

I wish you all a very happy forth of July.