Category Archives: USA

holidays, rants, USA

Here’s to all the soldiers…

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American FlagHappy Veteran’s Day!  Is that a proper greeting for this holiday? I have no idea… but its a day we need to take to pause and reflect on our soldiers — past, present and future.

God bless our soldiers. The men and women who protect this country. Who ensure our freedoms and provide us protection.

God bless our vets, who have gone into battle and conflict, paving the way of where we are today.

God bless those who dream of some day defending this country, stepping up and continuing the tradition of greatness.

God bless the families of those men and women who serve — for while they may not be in uniform, they give a lot, too.

Sadly, as we rely on our military to protect us, we consistently turn our backs on them upon their return home. Veteran’s Day is a day set aside to honor them, but what do we do instead? We focus on Christmas sales, and shopping. We go to our jobs and MAYBE make note of an American flag somewhere. We drive by VFW halls and not once pause to consider what “V.F.W.” means.

We live our lives without noticing the many veterans who stand among us, struggling to fit into civilian life. We cruise through Nov. 11th as if it were just some day of the week. We turn our backs on our veterans in hospitals, nursing homes, or even those who end up homeless for various reasons. We ignore them, even as we’ve so heavily relied on them to keep us safe. To let us sleep in peace at night.

Perhaps it could be argued that if we don’t feel the need to pause and take note, it means they’ve done their jobs. It’s like you always experience: no one notices when you do a good job, but they sure as hell notice every time you make a mistake!! But in the case of our military, that’s unacceptable. Completely unacceptable.

You don’t have to be best friends with a veteran. You don’t even have to agree with them on any topic. But you have to respect and thank them for their service to our country. They ensure us the freedom to do as we please, when we please. They even give us the freedom to ignore them, should we so choose.

Though, I, for one, choose to say THANK YOU. How about you?

general-post, USA

Vote

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I don’t like to talk politics. It’s up there with religion on “topics to avoid if you don’t want to end up in a fight with someone.” An intelligent and fact-driven conversation very rarely happens.

However, I will say that ever since I was old enough to vote, its something I’ve taken seriously and appreciated about my country. Even when, for whatever reason, I did not vote in an election, I appreciated that I had to right to vote, along with the freedom to not vote, should it just not work out.

I’ve never been a fan of voting along party lines. I’ve always believed you vote based on your beliefs and what is best for the country. Do your homework on the candidates. Know what they stand for individually versus just knowing their party.

(I wish the people in office voted this way a lot more as well — based on what is best for the people who put them in office versus what their party expects of them. But, that’s a rant for another blog post that will probably never happen.)

Our ancestors went through a lot of strife for us to have this right.  Voting is our chance to have a say in our government. It’s the one time the majority is heard loud and clear. It’s when the candidates are reminded that its the American people who are their bosses. It’s the American people who decide if they still have a job or if they get a new job.

I will be at the polls today. I will proudly cast my vote and have my say. It’s my right… it’s your right, too.