This post is likely to open a proverbial can of worms.  I’m okay with that.

Growing up in Cold War America meant a few things.  It meant fear of nukes and “commies” and it meant that every voice of influence in my life (church, school, and family) reinforced the idea that America was the greatest nation on planet Earth.  It meant that I entered adulthood with the idea that America’s founding fathers were the most brilliant of men and that the form of government they designed must have been crafted just as God intended every government to be crafted.

In 1994, at the ripe old age of 22, I married a young Army officer.  I’m sure you can guess how privileged I felt to have a man committed to serving the greatest nation on the planet slip a ring on my finger and ask me to serve this nation by…