On Veterans Day we not only honor those who have risked or given their lives in military service, we also remember the “eleventh day of the eleventh month” when the First World War was declared at an end. We cherish the warriors, but we honor them most deeply by creating peace.
What will you do today to create peace in your small part of the world?
I will not be celebrating the military today. I didn’t when I lived in the US, and I will not start now that I’ve returned to my native Germany. Soldiers are people with inherent worth and dignity, and I think it’s important to remember that this is true, regardless on what side they are fighting on. However, I don’t think participating in warfare is an act worthy of respect, regardless of what side they are fighting on.
As for creating peace: I will continue to work on treating my family better, with less sarcasm and bitterness and more compassion.
Indeed, military veterans are worthy of respect. I was a U.S. Naval Officer for 22 years and the sailors and officers with whom I worked earned my respect. Still, I remain curious why the United States often refers to those who serve as heroes who have given service to their country. With a few exceptions, those who are in the military serve for very personal and somewhat self-centered reasons and not mainly to serve the country. After 22 years of service, I can only recall a very few who were in the military mainly to serve the country. What about those who join civilian organizations mainly to serve the country or world community? Are they not even more worthy of our respect as heroes?
What will you do today to create peace in your small part of the world?…
Spread as much love and healing as The Fates allow.
Namaste & Bright Blessings!
Dwayne
You’re damn right I’m going to honor our veterans; they are people like my husband, my grandfather AND grandmother, my two uncles, and many of my friends. They stepped up to the plate and made sacrifices that I and many others were either too chicken to do or simply not able to do.
I gave my US Army husband a huge hug on Veterans Day and we had a nice talk about the fall of the Berlin Wall, the anniversary of which was on 9 November. Because my husband was in Germany (Bamberg – just 30 km outside the Czech border) just a few years before the Wall came down, he feels like he had something of a hand in bringing down those forces that had erected the Wall to begin with. We can’t say that nary a shot was fired during the Cold War, because plenty of our troops died (mostly Special Ops guys, that sort of thing), but it was a far calmer scene than WWII or Korea or Vietnam.
And let’s not forget that our troops are not just a bunch of “paid thugs” who are good for nothing more than shooting people. Many of the US Army Corps of Engineers are up in the American Northeast right now, among the many first responders who are trying to get things back to normal after Hurricane Sandy ripped through several states and left God only knows how many people without power, without running water, in flooded homes (IF their homes are still standing at all), etc.
Let’s also not forget things like Toys for Tots, a charitable event that the US Marines do every year near the holidays.
One thing I have noticed about UUs that I feel I need to speak out very strongly about is this mocking of our troops. That does nothing to help their morale, and they are standing between us and the barbarians at the gate, whatever form those barbarians may take.
So for your freedom to put them down and talk trash about them, my husband says, “You’re welcome.”
This nonsense really makes me hugely angry.
You want to know why veterans are heroes? Here’s why:
A veteran is someone who, at one point in his/her life, wrote a blank check made payable to “The United States of America,” for an amount of “up to and including my life.”
Not everyone can say that.
Guess what happens the US Marines who guard our embassies, when said embassies are attacked? THEY DIE. They die for civilian politicians. If anything, it’s the politicians (with their inclination to lie and bs then entire populace to win an election) who are NOT the heroes. It’s the people serving them.