I have been listening to some of the reports about the woman who is protesting outside President Bush's ranch in Texas. While having a loved one die in a war is never pleasant, nor do I want anyone to die for any reason, it does happen. The men and women that have volunteered to serve in the military understand that they could end up fighting somewhere. They fight to protect our way of life and our rights, we have the right to say anything we want no matter how dumb it sounds, we have the right to protest what we don't like, even if no one else agrees with us we have the right to our own opinions. My youngest son is going into the Navy when he graduates this spring, his recruiter asked me what I thought about his going into military service. I told him that while I was very proud of his choice at wanting to serve, I was also very afraid that he might have to fight and possibly die. Yet I would rather he serve and maybe die or get injured protecting our rights than die here in fear because terrorism wasn't stopped. This Nation is one of the few that has an all volunteer armed service, some countries require that their young people serve in the military whether they want to or not. How good can a military be if some of the people in it don't want to fight? If we want our freedoms, there have to be sacrifices made, ask those that have fought if our freedoms are worth the fight. I think they are. Freedom isn't free.
Live well...
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4 comments:
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Good point. Almost everyone who signs up for military service understands that there is a chance they will die.
Thanks for you comments about our Freedoms. We are a fortunate country to be able to express ourselves no matter how erudite or inane we may sound.
I also agree with your statements about making sacrifices. I am afraid that in the recent military conflicts the general public did/does not seem ready to face those sacrifices. It is not enough for the families of those who have suffered the death or maiming of their loved ones to carry the burden. The rest of us have to figure out a better way.
One way is to insure that our elected leaders are more interested in serving their constituents than themselves. With that approach we might choose to go to war more clearly.
Another way is to support the troops once that momentous decision is made, even if it is for the wrong or unclear reasons.
Having served two tours in Viet Nam I remember how the general public looked on the military as pariahs. I sincerely hope that we don't stoop to that level in this battle.
We owe our troops a debt of gratitude. The easiest way to begin paying that debt is to say thank you to every military person you see/know/meet. You might even shake their hand.
It might be an interesting idea to thank those who are exercising their right to protest. They are showing the rest of the world what America stands for.
I am proud of you for having raised your children to think for themselves, and for giving them the freedom to make mistakes. For it is through these opportunities that they are building character. They know that you value them as individuals.
Continue to Serve well!
Love,
Dad
My thoughts are that these families are grieving the loss of their loved ones. Blame is something they need to do and they don't want to blame their loved one for chosing to join up. It's much easier to blame the president (not that I support his choice to go into this war, etc. but I won't get into that here).
I applaud all those who still want to join the military even when our country is in the middle of a battle.
(for those anonymous spam comments...I switched mine to registered users only)
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