Tag Archives: veterans

Here’s to all the soldiers…

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?