A 4th of July Message from Nate Boyer

[beevomav]

July 4, 2013

Editor’s note: Junior deep snapper Nate Boyer is a U.S. Army veteran who is serving in the National Guard this summer. He sent this Fourth of July message to all Texas Longhorns fans.

Hey Longhorn fans! Happy Independence Day!

I'm deployed to Afghanistan for the summer and have been staying busy everyday. I'm not going to get into the details of the mission, but I just want everyone back home to know how truly lucky we are to have what we have in America. Whether you think you're at the bottom of the barrel or the top of the heap, the quality of life that we enjoy as Americans is unparalleled by anything else.

Independance Day celebrates the birth of our nation, and since that day 237 years ago, we have lived as free as anyone on this planet. Regardless of what minor differences we all have as Americans, we have a choice, everyday, to live our lives the way that we choose, free from oppression, with no one's ideals but our own thrust upon us. Some people in this world just don't have a choice, they experience oppression from the get go, and very few of them will ever have the opportunity or the "choice" to break free of those chains. I love my country as much as anyone, and I feel that it is my duty as a soldier to do whatever I can within my power to try and provide the rest of the world with at least a taste of the freedoms that we enjoy every single day.

I feel overcome with guilt as I maneuver through the city streets and see children picking through garbage piles on the side of the road; countless women begging while laying their naked babies in the middle of the street allowing them to bake in the sun with the hopes of attracting some sympathy from another impoverished individual. It's just not right, and it's certainly not fair. No matter what God you believe in, if we are all fortunate enough to be born in the USA, then we also have a responsibility to the rest of mankind. We have so much, which also means we have so much to give. We are all part of the one percent that lives better or as well as anyone in the world - and every single American can make a choice to do something to change the world around them for the better, everyday of their lives. Whether you are a citizen or a soldier, old or young, I challenge you to find a worthy cause and commit yourself to it. Because the only true happiness you will find in this life is that of selfless heroism, and if we all come together as a nation and practice this at least a little bit everyday, we really can change the world.

This is my wish for all of you on this Independance Day, that you enjoy yourself, you enjoy your BBQ's and your fireworks, and your friends, and your family. But that you also remember the men and women who are fighting for days like today, and especially the ones who have given their lives for you and for the potential freedom of people in other distant parts of the world who have nothing to celebrate. These words have never rang so true to me as now and I genuinely believe that: "What Starts HERE Changes The World!" -John 15:13

I can't wait to get back to the University of Texas, to Austin, and of course the football team. I miss my teammates as much as anything because even though I am at least ten years older than most of them, they are some of the best friends I have ever made, and it’s been great to see some of these guys grow up so much over just a few short years. I'm as inspired by some of them as much as anything and it’s incredible to see these boys become men. Fall camp is just around the corner and for the first time since I've been at UT, I have this fire burning in my gut telling me that this is really going to be a special season. Even from 5,000 miles away I can somehow tell how hard the guys are working this summer, and I know that many of them feel the same way that I do. Yes, football is just a game, but it is undoubtedly now America's game, and it does nothing less than bring us all together even closer as a nation.

There are so many troops just like me who are deployed right now that CAN'T WAIT for football season to begin. It’s something that helps get us through the weeks, looking forward to Saturdays and Sundays even if we have to watch the games at 3 a.m. Afghanistan time. Watching the Longhorns play from Iraq back in the fall of 2008 is a big part of the reason that I came to school here and walked on. UT is easily the most popular team in the military, and on this deployment alone I have met dozens of fans who I fight alongside, and even a few Aggies and Sooners who admit that they quietly pull for us now because they have a soldier on their team...

Hook 'Em and "De Opresso Liber" -To Free the Oppressed

Link to Original: MackBrown-TexasFootball.com - Official website of the Texas Longhorns - Texas Football

You can follow Nate on Twitter: @NateBoyer37

Thanks to Sarah Smith ‏@SASmith_UT for posting

 

[bbdude]

Class effing act. Boyer is balls out.