Wilson Stooksberry, center, speaks with Robin Spielberger while Ron Spielberger looks on.

“We’ve lost our identity,” said Wilson Stooksberry at a fund raiser last night. The candidate running against Charlotte Bergmann and George Flynn in the primary to later face Steve Cohen for Tennessee’s Ninth Congressional seat elaborated.

“It’s like walking into an ER and seeing a buddy of yours who’s been in a crash. You see him there but you can hardly recognize him,” he said of his current assessment of the United States.

When he looked around at the leadership possibilities of those running for office, Stooksberry “looked at the opposition and said we can do better than that.” A packed room at Flight restaurant downtown agreed.

“Here’s why I’m in front of you today. When 9/11 happened I was 21 and more into Ole Miss football and chasing Southern belles than paying attention to history. I began a new quest. I dove into books to find out everything America stood for. I realized how precious this country is. It was made by men and women who hated tyranny and reversed human history by making the people important. The words ‘freedom’ and ‘America’ really meant something.”

Although he didn’t dwell on his accomplishments, the owner of Flight introduced him and told about Stooksberry’s joining Special Forces as a first responder in Afghanistan. He referred to his many acts of valor on the frontline. “He understands the importance of national security and also small business and jobs.”

Courage, a quality he saw in Stooksberry’s actions, is something we don’t have in DC. Stooksberry agreed. “We need major courage to say what needs to be said and more courage in our politicians in Washington.”

The courage of his brother, Wade, has been inspirational too. Three weeks ago Wade had a terrible headache. It persisted and he went to the emergency room. Shortly after, he was told he had a brain tumor of the kind that had killed his mother. The doctors removed a golf ball size tumor from his head.

Wilson recounted, “The first time I saw him the morning after surgery, Wade said, ‘Wilson, they took out a large part of my brain and I can still make better decisions than Steve Cohen.’ Wade was one of the first who wanted me to run.”

Stooksberry thanked everyone for their prayers for Wade. He also said that the experience for him “showcased Obamacare deficiencies.” It would be unlikely for him to have such treatment if the Affordable Care Act prevails.

For Shelby County, our advocate in Washington against all this is Cohen who Stooksberry called “one of the most anti American persons in D.C.” He characterized the election as not one of “right vs. left, but right vs. wrong.” For him, as for most of us, 2012 is the most important election of our life times.

Stooksberry will be opening his campaign headquarters next week in Midtown in the shopping center off Poplar that houses Ronnie Grisanti’s. He feels optomistic about his chances. “We’ve been overwhelmed at the support that has come forward. We have a lot of volunteers and a lot of prayers. I intend to canvass intently.” In the redistricting he cites the addition of Millington and hopes to get the military vote there. The addition of parts of Cordova signal hopefulness for that area, too.

If the mood last night was any indication, he has a lot of enthusiastic people willing to work for him.