Take time to honor veterans
In the shadow of Veterans Day, we are reminded, once again, of the ideals of freedom, sacrifice and liberation as well as America’s influence in the world, both past and present. To truly take the time to ponder what all that really means is both enlightening as well as humbling.
During the time around Veterans Day, we hear so many phrases like “freedom isn’t free” or “defending our freedoms.” I doubt that most people really ever give time to take the heart-wrenching journey into the past or the impact of what has been done by generations of soldiers who are no longer with us, or are here but indelibly changed.
Memorials and cemeteries exist throughout the world honoring American soldiers who rarely knew anything of the country they were in. Barely old enough to be called adults, who, in a matter of a few months, experienced the jubilance of victory, the gratitude of survival, the meaning of true brotherhood, and, for far too many, the unimaginable sensation of feeling their lives drain from them.
As hard as it might be to think about, it is essential that every American take the unpleasant path of reflection, absorption, and then, hopefully, appreciation for the price that has been paid not only by the soldiers passed but for those still living. How can we possibly embrace and protect our freedoms without understanding the great pains and sacrifice by which those freedoms have been maintained?
The levels of response to our veterans and what they have done are many. And, while it is rather easy to find immediate distraction from thinking about war and its effects, it is so important to remember the past because it directly correlates to our present and, more important, our future. If we don’t look at the causes that start the wars in the first place, we will be doomed to repeat more wars, and more loss.
The more we consider the causes of war, the greater the chance we will recognize the many subtle ways that bring war about. Acts of tyranny, subtle removal of human rights, governmental oppression, the disregard of basic human dignity, and many more preludes to what finally result in conflict.
I can’t help wondering what the veterans of World Wars I and II, for example, would say about our diminishing rights, our loss of privacy, and the feeling that we are subjects to an ever-increasing, restraining and controlling hierarchy. If it were required for every congressman to visit the cemeteries of fallen soldiers all over the world instead of the corporate-funded vacation spots, perhaps we could, as citizens, rest in greater assurance that the freedoms we are guaranteed in the Constitution would remain with us.
Freedom, we are told, comes with a responsibility. The greater responsibility lies with those in greater position. Every congressman and every greedy CEO needs to be shocked out of their insulated and detached existence and be humbled by the incredible price that was paid so they can have the luxuries they now take advantage of.
We, the people, and especially our leaders, need to spend serious time in contemplating the cost of so many lives, and then work to ensure that what generations of veterans have fought and died for will remain with us.
Let us never forget the veterans, and let us equally remember that even those not in a uniform can step up to see that the Constitution and the freedoms it assures us stay intact.
Be a soldier of the pen or computer, and write your legislators to remind them ... “lest ‘they’ forget.”
Note to readers – Jay Charleston, a retired electrician, does volunteer repair jobs in the community and also dabbles in painting and metallic sculpturing.
