Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 113 Responsibilities
Oakland is located on the east coast of San Francisco Bay, across the sea from San Francisco.

Because of the San Francisco Gold Rush, Oakland, with its advantageous geographical location, has become an important transportation hub in the California Bay Area since the 19th century.

In the 1869s, the port transportation here was already very developed. In , a railway terminal across the entire America was built here, becoming the most important railway center in California. The immigrants and laborers who came here were countless. With the efforts of these people, Oakland also changed from an ordinary fishing village to a modern and industrialized city.

Although diversity can bring economic prosperity, the incompatibility of ideas will lead to countless conflicts. The civil rights movement for black people, the anti-war hippie movement, and even the world-famous Black Panther Party were all born and popular in this city.

Under this circumstance, Oakland's public security can be said to be the worst in the Bay Area.

And when the energy crisis broke out a few years ago, with the relocation of countless factories, soaring oil prices, intensified inflation, and skyrocketing unemployment rates, the living environment here became even worse.

If it wasn't necessary, Ethan would never set foot here, and today...

With Thomas behind the wheel, a Ford pickup truck loaded with twenty boxes of fresh navel oranges slowly drove into the Fruit Valley of East Oakland, Oakland's largest and most diverse area.

After twists and turns, a dilapidated community of houses appeared in front of Ethan.

Although the houses here are still single-family buildings, there are no lush green lawns in front of and behind the houses. There is only bare land and various sundries piled on it.

The wooden fence used to mark the territory has been in disrepair for many years and is in a dilapidated state. The fence swaying in the wind and the cracked surface even give people the illusion that it will fall down if touched.

Some families had various small flags hanging on their doors. Perhaps due to Ethan's lack of knowledge, he could not accurately distinguish the countries represented by the flags, but at the same time he knew that these national flags were the householders' oaths and stories, declaring their identities and telling their roots.

"Get out of the car." Thomas stopped in front of a two-story wooden house.

Ethan did as he was told.

But when he wanted to lift the tarp on the back of the car and take the navel oranges off the car, Thomas waved his hand, signaling him not to be anxious, and then went to the door of the wooden house and knocked a few times.

"Who?"

After a moment, a deep voice sounded.

"It's me, Thomas Johnson." Thomas opened his voice and said, "I am Jimmy Jones' brother, and his sister Linda Jones is my wife."

Perhaps it was because Thomas mentioned three people's names in one sentence, so when he finished speaking, the room fell into a thoughtful silence, but it might be that the name Jimmy Jones stimulated the guy inside, so after the silence, the sound of footsteps suddenly rang out.

Then, there was a creaking sound and the door opened.

A figure whose age could not be determined emerged from the house. His face was dull and his cheeks were flushed. He was wearing a camouflage uniform that had been washed out. The cuffs and knees had lost their color. The high-top boots on his feet should be his most valuable possessions, but even so, they were covered in stains and creases.

When this guy saw Thomas, endless joy suddenly burst out of his cloudy eyes. He opened his arms to hug him and said with a big laugh: "Oh - Thomas - it's so great to see you! We haven't seen each other for a long time, right? The last time we met was last Christmas? If I remember correctly, you brought me a lot of gifts at that time!"

"Oh Michael, you have a good memory," Thomas responded with a smile, "I'm really sorry that I haven't been here for so long. I'm busy at home and can't leave anyone in the orchard."

"However, after this batch of navel oranges are ripe, I will be able to take some time off and rest. I will definitely come to play with you then. Oh, by the way, when I came here today, I also brought you navel oranges. They are the first batch of fruits this year. I have tasted them and they are very sweet..."

"Oh - Thomas - you don't have to be like this, I'm already very happy that you can come to see me!"

Thomas didn't say anything, but smiled at Michael.

The guy named Michael opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but after a while, he was a little speechless and turned what he was thinking into the simplest word.

"Oh - thank you - thank you Thomas -"

Thomas patted the other person and accepted the thank you.

And when they parted, the gray-haired Michael also cast his eyes on Ethan.

At first, he thought Ethan was Thomas' employee because he helped pick navel oranges in the afternoon. At this moment, Ethan was wearing a large leather apron and arm sleeves. But when Michael took a closer look, his vicissitudes of life eyes could no longer move away from Ethan.

"This is--" He raised his hand and pointed at Ethan, wanting to get an answer from Thomas.

But before Thomas could speak, he had already expressed his guess.

"Is this Jimmy's son?"

"Yeah." Thomas nodded. "He is Ethan, Ethan Jones."

Before Thomas finished speaking, the guy named Michael took a step forward.

The thumping sound of his footsteps expressed his excitement, and his paused figure explained his inner nervousness. He raised his arms tremblingly, trying to grab Ethan's shoulders, but when he raised them halfway, he couldn't move forward an inch. At this moment, it seemed as if an invisible wall appeared in front of them, dividing the small space into two worlds.

Seeing this, Ethan quietly took a step forward.

Open your arms and embrace the other person.

When the tight warmth appeared, Michael's body stiffened.

And the next second, Ethan said: "Hi, Michael, nice to meet you."

"..."

As soon as the words fell, everything returned to silence.

Michael raised his hands tremblingly and pressed them stiffly on Ethan's back.

After a few mechanical taps, a hoarse voice finally appeared, "Oh... Ethan..."

"Nice to meet you..."

Those two short sentences seemed to turn on some kind of switch.

After instinctively greeting, this guy's body began to shake continuously.

Ethan didn't move, and had no curiosity in his heart. He just stood there straight.

After a long time, a whimper entered his ears.

"Oh Jimmy—I finally met your son—"

"Oh Jimmy - your son has grown taller than you -"

"Oh Jimmy—he's even more handsome than you—don't worry, he'll find a wife—"

That's right!

When the name Jimmy Jones appeared, Ethan already knew who the person in front of him was!
He was the comrade of the figure that fell in the Delang River Valley!

He is also the brother of the figure who will always stay in the Delang River Valley and cannot return home!
When this fact came to light, Ethan Jones also understood what the gift in Thomas' mouth was - it was the last trace of the original owner's father left in the world!

Perhaps it was because they were making so much noise, or perhaps it was because there was no response from the door, so when Michael held Ethan and sobbed, a burst of rapid footsteps was heard.

Following the sound, a middle-aged woman with short hair appeared in front of Ethan.

The woman in the orange dress first cast her eyes towards Thomas. After recognizing the identity of the person, she nodded in a friendly manner. Then, she cast a puzzled look towards where Ethan was.

When she saw Michael hugging a young man and sobbing, she took a step forward to ask, but when she saw the face facing her clearly, surprise suddenly appeared on the weathered face, and the whole person froze there as if struck by lightning.

This performance also made Thomas come closer to Ethan, patted Michael's shoulder, and said, "Oh Michael, do you feel better after crying?"

"Your wife has been frightened by your actions, so go and hug her..."

At this point, he paused, then added, "Ethan is here and he's not going anywhere. You don't have to worry about him running away. You'll have plenty of time to talk later."

"Right? Ethan?" Thomas winked at Ethan.

Ethan smiled and nodded, and said softly: "Yes, Michael, I came to see you today."

The gentle voice seemed to have a special magical power, which made Michael stand up straight again.

He pursed his lips and nodded, then turned around and went into the house. He said a few words in the middle-aged woman's ear, then raised his hand and pointed at Ethan. The continuous actions made different expressions flash across the woman's face. First she was stunned, then shocked, then moved, and finally she came in front of the two of them and simply saluted.

"Good evening, Mr. Johnson."

"Jones...Mr....Nice to meet you."

"I'm going out to buy some things..."

The woman's words were a little flustered, and her steps left a little hurriedly, but Michael, who had calmed down, smiled and invited the two to come in, "Since you're here, let's eat together tonight."

"She's going to buy some things and will be back soon."

Welcomed by Michael, Ethan followed Thomas into the house, which was the most common simple bungalow in California. It looked like it had two floors, but in fact it only had one and a half floors.

Because the second floor is a loft for rest only.

After entering through the front door, the first thing you see is an independent living room. Next to the living room is a semi-enclosed kitchen. Going further forward, there is a dining room connected to the kitchen.

Although the layout looks very cramped, it is actually very warm. The walls of the living room are covered with countless photos. With a quick glance, one of them caught Ethan's attention because it was a group photo. The shooting time in the lower right corner showed June 1965.

And when Ethan stopped and stared at the photo, Michael's face was filled with nostalgia.

"This is a photo from the original assembly. The one in the middle left of the second row is Jimmy."

"We are the third pilot unit of the Army Air Cavalry Division. We were officially established on April 1964, 4 at Fort Benning, Georgia. At the beginning, our flag was the 22rd Brigade of the 11th Air Assault Division, but it was not fully staffed. After it was fully staffed on June 3, 1965, we changed our flag to the 6rd Brigade of the 25st Cavalry Division and went to Southeast Asia on September 1 of that year..."

As Michael told his story, a tragic movie appeared in front of Ethan.

On September 1965, 9, they set out from South Carolina;
They just arrived in Southeast Asia on October 1965, 10, and took part in the operation on the same day;
Then, on November 1965, 11, the life-and-death battle had already begun.

The intensive schedule left them with no time to get familiar with everything there!
Although this kind of thing is normal for soldiers, and they must master the skill of quickly adapting to everything in an unfamiliar environment, because only in this way can they ensure that they can survive in a cruel environment, but... they are not ordinary soldiers! They are air mechanized troops!

"MFxxk!"

"At that time, they simply explained the situation to us and gave us a few maps. They didn't give us any other information, and then they asked us to parachute in!"

"How can we know which places are dangerous when we fly over them?"

"How do we know where an ambush might lie when we're flying over it?"

"When the ground troops haven't arrived yet, every helicopter drop is a life-threatening one!"

"Anyone who has served in the military knows that parachuting into an unfamiliar environment is like fighting with your eyes closed!"

"So, when our 2nd Battalion was marching quickly according to the order from above, we were ambushed by the enemy because we were unfamiliar with the terrain! More than a hundred brothers died on the spot because they were not prepared!"

“Ethan, if your father hadn’t brought people to cover us…we might all have stayed there!”

"But even if we come back...your father...he...he...wu——"

A wail of pain came out of Michael's mouth.

People in their forties squatted on the ground, hugged their knees with their hands and buried their heads deep.

This situation left Ethan at a loss for words.

He could only squat down and pat the other person's back.

At the same time, he also recalled the scene when he met Spielberg last year.

After learning that his father had died on the battlefield, the old man walked away trembling.

Because for these guys who have experienced war, war is war. It will never become a positive word, it will only be a negative word, no matter whether they win or lose.

If you lose the fight, not only will you lose your life and suffer trauma, but you will also have to bear the infamy.

Winning the battle seems to be a glory, but which medal you wear is not stained with blood?

Only those who are extremely selfish and cold-hearted can accept all this calmly!
The masses who are powerless to resist...

Most of them live their lives in pain!

Perhaps time can be a good medicine, allowing them to be full of strength when facing the public, but time can never cut off life and death. When night falls, who can guarantee that they will forget their fallen comrades?

While Michael was crying loudly, the middle-aged woman who had run away earlier came back.

There were two large paper bags in her arms, and it was obvious that she had gone to the nearby supermarket to buy some things.

At the same time, several figures appeared at the gate.

Their ages range from thirty to fifty.

Their faces are all filled with the vicissitudes of life.

After seeing Thomas, they all excitedly greeted him and said hello to him happily. When Thomas stepped aside and showed Ethan squatting there...

"Similar... really too similar..." said an uncle-like guy.

"His eyes are exactly like Jimmy's!" another person nodded.

"Are you Ethan Jones?" someone asked directly.

Ethan simply nodded his head, not knowing what to say to this question. The next second, they sobbed and their eyes turned red...

Dinner in the slums was relatively simple. Even though Michael's wife went shopping, what was finally served on the table were just ordinary things like scrambled eggs, fried pork chops, macaroni, and spaghetti.

The dining environment was even worse because more and more people came, so the already small restaurant was suddenly crowded. But even so, everyone still enjoyed the meal very much.

The reason is simple, I'm just happy.

While eating, everyone calmed down and started chatting. It was only then that Ethan realized that the First Cavalry Division, to which these people belonged, had participated in almost all major battles.

With the exception of the Drang Valley, they were present in all of the Tet Offensives and Invasions.

As the only American division-level unit that fought in all four battlefields during the entire war, they received a lot of feedback on medals, but unfortunately—

"What's the use of these things?"

A man pounded the table angrily and said, "After we returned to China, our military numbers were directly cancelled! They asked us to report back to our original unit, and then we received a discharge notice!"

"They said the war was over, the troops were full, and there was no room for us!"

"Oh! Sxxt!"

"These are all excuses!"

"They are crazy about covering this up!"

"They just want to appease the discontent of the domestic people!"

“They just want to shut up the abusive mouths!”

"And we—"

“We are the ones who actually went to the battlefield!”

“Someone who really needs care!”

"But they treated it as garbage and threw it away at will!"

"We have no choice but to stay in a place like this now! Living in misery!"

When this resentment appeared, the scene that was still reminiscing about the past fell silent for a moment.

Michael's home was also shrouded in a dark cloud that could not be blown away.

Ethan also understood what they were saying.

To sum it up in one word -

Discrimination.

Just like Ethan's previous life, as portrayed in countless Hollywood movies, after experiencing hardships and sacrificing their lives, the Vietnam War veterans did not receive flowers and applause, nor comfort and care, but rather unfair treatment from top to bottom in America.

They have no social status.

They also have difficulty finding jobs.

The bullying that Rambo suffered in "First Blood" is the most realistic situation.

There are many reasons for this situation, but it all comes down to two words that everyone knows:

Lost the fight.

For something like this that cannot be changed by human power alone...

All anyone can do is feel helpless.

When this painful wail appeared, Thomas immediately changed the subject, saying that he brought a truckload of navel oranges, and when everyone went back later, they must carry a box away.

Although this interruption seemed rather abrupt, everyone present understood that Thomas had no ill intentions, so they thanked Thomas and expressed their admiration for his character.

It was not until then that Ethan realized that when these veterans returned to California, they had looked for him, and Thomas had kept in touch with them since then...

"Thomas, why didn't you tell me about these things before?"

At nine o'clock in the evening, Thomas and Ethan got up to say goodbye. On the way back, Ethan asked, "If I remember correctly, this should be the first time I met them."

When these veterans said that they had looked for Ethan as early as 1972 when they retired, Ethan directly searched his memory, and the result he got was...

No.

He doesn't remember this incident.

Or perhaps the original owner of the body has no memory of this.

"It's simple, because they don't want to disturb you."

Thomas smiled as he drove, "After they contacted me, they asked me about your situation. At that time, you happened to get a job at Mirowa, so I told them that you are living a good life now. Although you are not very obedient, at least you can go out and make money."

"When they learned about all this, they gave up the idea of ​​meeting you because they were afraid that their presence would affect you, and that your company would directly fire you after knowing your background. There was nothing they could do about it. The anti-war voices had already reached the top of public opinion at that time."

"As the son of a comrade, you finally settled down, so they can rest assured."

Ethan remained silent after hearing these words.

He stared out the window with flickering eyes, and the rapidly receding world made him smile and shake his head.

Even though he didn't have a close relationship with these people, he could clearly feel the deep love they had for him. It was a manifestation of loving the person and loving everyone in them, and it was also a kind of spiritual sustenance that was difficult to explain.

"so……"

"Thomas, are these the gifts you mentioned before?"

After a moment, Ethan asked again.

And his words made Thomas sigh.

Slow down, turn on the hazard lights, and pull over.

After pulling the handbrake, Thomas turned sideways and looked at Ethan.

"Ethan, although my next words may be a little harsh, you have to believe that I have absolutely no ill intentions... Your father's comrades are indeed the most precious treasures your father left you."

"none of them."

"Your father used his life to exchange for their continuation. They are grateful to your father from the bottom of their hearts, and this gratitude is something that countless amounts of money cannot buy."

"My child, I don't know how you view me, or how you view my father's employment theory. I don't know whether you are happy or disgusted, but I want to tell you..."

"On the surface, you provide jobs to society in exchange for some voting rights, which is a kind of transaction, but in fact, the word transaction is not suitable to describe this relationship at all."

“The right to vote is only the simplest and most superficial manifestation of the entire relationship.”

"What's really important is to make those people feel that they are not following the wrong person."

"They will only listen to your ideas and follow your advice if they feel that the people they follow can give them a better life and meet their corresponding needs."

"They will only vote with you if they trust you from the bottom of their hearts."

"Although on the surface you pay money, in fact, you really pay more, for example, you have to let them see hope! The hope of a better life!"

"This invisible and intangible thing is what you really need to pay for!"

“Perhaps in many cases, this hope can be solved with money.”

"For example, they want a stable life, and you provide them with a stable job."

"But more often than not, this hope is difficult to resolve."

"Because when you decide to move forward with them, what you are carrying on your shoulders is not just your own life, but the families of all those who trust you!"

“That’s a responsibility!”

“When you decide to embark on this path, whether you like it or not, whether you do it from the bottom of your heart or not, you have to keep walking with the same face forever until the end of your life!”

"So... now you should be able to understand what your father left for you, right?"

"Only the continuation of life can earn unconditional trust!"

“This unconditional approach helps you remove all obstacles in the process of building trust!”

“This unconditional attitude can also tolerate all your mistakes as you move forward and make mistakes!”

"Your father wiped out all the tests of humanity with his life!"

“This is the most precious thing!”

Thomas paused.

And Ethan...

A knowing smile appeared on his face.

He understood what Thomas meant.

What Thomas wants to express is that bringing a better life to a group of people is a long and difficult task. There is no end to this kind of thing. You can only keep running hard until the end of your life.

In this situation, only a life-or-death friendship can buy a brief rest during the run.

And for Ethan...

He was actually mentally prepared.

In his opinion, the vision of "bringing a better life to some people" is just a slim version of "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN". When the slogan is shouted out...

Then there is no way out.

Although he may not be able to pay wages to a million people and provide them with a better life in his lifetime, he can still support a dozen or twenty people now.

Not to mention, these people can be considered as one's relatives.

Although he loves money and wants to earn more, if some people can live a better life because of his help, that would be the best thing for him.

And this is actually the greatest value of money...right?

Other feedback along the way…

He admits.

He wants it too.

"Thank you, Thomas."

Ethan smiled and said, "You may have wanted to hire them a long time ago, right?"

“But they were afraid of affecting me, so they didn’t accept it.”

"And in this case, you can still visit them every year..."

"You are indeed a good man."

Thomas was stunned by such an evaluation.

Then he unbuckled his seat belt with a smile.

"Get out of the car!" He waved his hand.

"What?" Ethan was very confused by this action.

"You drive! I'm so tired!" Thomas wanted to switch places with Ethan. "It's still more than fifty miles home. It will take an hour at least. You drive!"

Ethan smiled and shook his head after hearing these words, "Okay——"

He accepted this 'hard job'.

PS1, to answer a question, the identity of a regional legislator is very important. Take the U.S. Senate for example. There are a total of 96 seats, which are evenly distributed among 98 states. Each state can send two senators. In this case, if a person wants to run for election, he will basically not be elected if he cannot become a legislator of his own state first. Take Guan Hai as an example. In 02, he entered the Illinois State Assembly as a legislator of the Hyde Park District in the 04th District of Chicago. In , he ran for Illinois Senator with this identity. He was re-elected in . In , he ran for the U.S. Senate as an Illinois State Legislator. Regardless of background, this is the most orthodox way to be promoted. The Los Gatos mentioned in the article is a constituency in California. In the s, the permanent population of that city was only people, so a thousand votes did not decide the life and death of a legislator, but their biological father, because this was the ticket to enter the state legislature.

PS2, no more at night, can’t squeeze out any more.

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(End of this chapter)