Yesterday, a very good friend who is a retired Air Force colonel and Vietnam War veteran reminded the rest of us what day it was by wearing his dress blue uniform to church. He graciously came up to thank my wife and me for the service of our son in the Navy. As is the case with many in the military, some of his children and their spouses are also serving in the armed forces. During our chat, my friend told me a son in law was coming home from Iraq after being wounded in battle. This young patriot, in a short phone conversation with his father in law, made the statement, “I can’t wait to talk to you about this, Dad. You’re the only one who will understand.”
I don’t think most of us take the time to ponder what it would be like to put your life (or more dramatically, the life of your son or daughter) in harm’s way for your country. One of my earliest recollections as a child is of the funeral of my cousin, Randy, who was killed in Vietnam. I remember vividly the honor guard placing the folded flag in the arms of my aunt, a grieving mother who lost her oldest son just a few weeks before he was scheduled to return home. And it’s not just the ones who don’t come home. We are learning more every year about the long term costs to these veterans in long term mental and physical health issues.
Clearly, the most patriotic thing one can do for America is to lay the ultimate sacrifice on the altar of freedom by volunteering to serve in our nation’s armed forces.
Although this may be controversial to some, I believe maybe the second most patriotic thing one can do is to keep the heat on our political leaders, to make sure those who offer that ultimate sacrifice are only put into harm’s way for a cause that is truly worthy of that devotion. The best way to support our troops is to exercise the rights secured by them to participate in our democracy, including protest when appropriate.
2 comments:
Steve,
I was thinking of posting a "how can we really honor the sacrifice of veterans" type of post but your last paragraph did it for me - don't waste their gift by becoming complacent about the rights they secure for us.
Thank you.
Our troops, for the most part, are victims and mercenaries to further the aims of the corrupt and ambitious including the Neocons and a few White House regimes. Someone at BYU counted 50 conflicts our soldiers have died in since WW II and that did not include the present struggles in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our soldiers died so Standard Oil could look for oil in the Mekong Delta. Our soldiers are dying now to make Iraq an oil rich client state. In the mean time the defense industry returns dividends to the shareholders of America. We are the world’s largest arms merchant often selling weaponry to both sides of any conflict. Doesn't anyone remember the Donald in Baghdad selling stuff to Saddam to fight the Iranians who were still using the weapons we sold Shah and House of Pahlevi?
A few more need to read history or at least check out the DVD, "Why We Fight", at Blockbuster.
In short, we Americans are dumb and the most highly manipulated and sound bite sensitive populace on the planet.
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