Friend,

I only know the shadow of war.

I saw the heavy shadow of the Vietnam War on my father, a Navy veteran who served 2 tours. It’s his story to tell, so I’ll just say this: he’s an amazing man who, over 50 years later, is still trying to find his way to the other side of that war.

In a different kind of shadow, I grew up at the end of the Cold War in a small Wyoming town. A few miles from our house was a nuclear missile pointed at the bad guys in Red Dawn and Rocky IV. We lived with and accepted that if the USSR launched a calculated attack, it was best to have this horrific event take place in an area that was sparsely populated. Everyone quietly agreed that we would take a nuke for the team.

So, that’s it. My experience within the shadow of war. It obviously can’t compare to how war has darkened the lives of people like my dad and anyone who has lived through or died under a rain of bombs and bullets. I simply can’t imagine what the people of Ukraine are enduring, or what it’s like as fear spreads across Europe.

I’m not writing today to ask you for money, but I am here to ask something of you.

As you hit your knees in prayer, or hit a button for a donation, or however you give yourself over to something greater, be thankful that we don’t have an autocrat currently in office who might fail to stand with Ukraine … or worse, support Putin. Countries like America are, as President Barack Obama said, supposed to be “a friend of each nation, and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity.”

So please, in every single election you are blessed by democracy to be a part of, please do all you can to cast your ballot for those who spread truth, kindness, dignity and hope.

With love,

Dc Lozano