"Now, ma'am, let me finish. Let me finish, ma'am....

 ...Part of free speech is you being able to speak, but also, you listening and me being able to speak." - President Obama, May 23, 2013 ~ National Defense University

Recently, on the eve of 2013's Memorial Day Weekend, President Obama gave an hour-long address to our country, and the world, about the United States' efforts against terrorism and his continued attempts to officially close GTMO. Now, regardless of your stance on the issues he addressed, regardless of who you voted for in the last election, if you didn't come away from that speech proud to be an American, on the brink of one our Nation's most sacred holiday's--I feel for you.

Having grown up the son of a Vietnam Veteran, and the grandson of a WWII, Purple-Heart Veteran, I learned at an early age the value of patriotism. Embedded in those lessons I quickly learned that freedom isn't free and that our Veterans, men and women in uniform and their families, first-responders, along with our elected representatives deserve our utmost respect, even in the face of utmost disagreement.

Unfortunately, with the incredibly volatile political discourse our country faces today, there is a faction of society driven by multiple ideologies that thinks it's okay to disrespect our elected officials. This could not have been more apparent by the actions of woman present during President Obama's May 23rd address.

So why a sense of pride after seeing this speech? If you have time, advance the speech to the 49:00 mark, and watch how our President handled the situation. A disrespectful protester, (in her defense---using her right to free speech) interrupted our President's address. As I said, where I come from, that's just wrong. This wasn't an upset Iraqi throwing a shoe at our president--this was an American citizen, an example of how disrespect. And there it is the iiWii moment--we have people among us that think it's okay to scream and yell at our own President while he gives an important address about the future of our country.

And I'll close by saying this, as we celebrate this Memorial Day, let us NEVER forget the ultimate sacrifice paid by so many Americans and their families, so that woman could have a chance to display her 1st Amendment rights--I just wish she checked her disrespect at the door.

PS. The following Wordle represents some of the key terms used in President Obama's speech; the words used most are larger.