This weekend we will celebrate Memorial Day as we honor our servicemen and women who have pledged to courageously defend this country at the risk of the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. It is also a time to remember the historic impact of the military on the lives of so many Americans and our moral responsibility to those who serve and sacrifice.

The history of the military in our everyday lives is a great equalizer when you consider the opportunities it has provided for so many.

Military pensions were the first public pension system in the United States which lead to retirement plans for non military personnel like teachers, firefighters, police and public employees.

History notes that Georgia Representative John Gibson left his sick bed in Georgia to return to Washington, DC to cast the critical tie-breaking vote for the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 more commonly known as the GI Bill. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed it into law on June 22, 1944. The passage of the bill offered education benefits to Americans who might never have seen such academic access. In 1947, veterans were nearly half of the nation’s registered college students. The bill also opened the doors to home ownership through low-interest, no-money-down mortgages, backed by the U.S. government. Many historians credit the legislation with igniting what we now call America’s middle class.

Back then the Veterans Administration (VA) was responsible for implementing the key provisions of the GI Bill, which included: education and training, loans for homes, farms or businesses, and for unemployment benefits.

Today the challenges of the VA to honorably serve those returning home from service is marked by federal investigations into the care it provides through its medical and mental health programs. This week in Atlanta, the Veterans Administration Medical Center named Leslie Wiggins as its new director. Her appointment comes at a time when the hospital has been the subject of federal investigations surrounding three deaths and allegations of lack of oversight and mismanagement at the facility.

As most of us enjoy the peace and safety of our daily lives, a few among us volunteer to serve as our protectors as they put themselves in harm’s way—-their service can never be forgotten.

In 2008, hardly anyone other than a few of his closest associates and a handful of idealistic, smart, energetic and committed folks (and certainly none of those who now talk about who can and cannot win in Georgia) thought then freshman Illinois Senator Barack Obama had any chance of winning the Democratic nomination for president. Even if he won the nomination certainly few (Rev. Joseph Lowery, myself and a few other Georgia politicos) put much faith in his likely election as President of the United States.

In my case, before I was elected mayor of Atlanta, every mayor for at least 30 years before was an elected official.  Some people discounted my candidacy for that reason alone  and others because my name recognition was so low.  Even more people thought I could not win without a runoff against two city councilmembers.  I did.

The other challenge for first time candidates is fundraising. Pundits will say that unknown candidates can’t raise the amount of money needed to win a major race. I disagree. As an unknown candidate I raised $800,000 over the first ten months of my campaign and raised a total of $3 million for the general election. This fundraising total surpasses any other Atlanta mayoral candidate in history and was the 2nd most expensive US mayoral campaign of 2001 behind Michael Bloomberg’s race in New York.

Just a year ago most national media predicted a tight Presidential race and some even predicted President Obama could lose the election due to a bad economy, slow recovery and perceived loses of confidence of his political base. The South was expected to be impossible to penetrate. Yet voters in Virginia, the heart of Lee’s confederacy and Florida—not once but twice voted in favor of this maverick candidate. In Georgia, Obama won 47% of the vote in 2008 and 46% in 2012. Women voted for him and the African American and other minority vote was solid.

I trust the majority of Georgia voters are like other American voters who want honesty, intelligence and a commitment to the common good in their candidates; they will open their minds and consider voting for those candidates who speak and act honorably. If a candidate has a clear message, experience that is relevant and an approach to government and policy that is solution focused, Georgia voters will respond favorably.

As usual we will not all agree but there is little doubt that this Senate race has already created political buzz and anticipation.

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