I attended a Veteran’s Day ceremony today. I have done so pretty regularly for a few years now. As I looked around those gathered at the county courthouse, I saw people I recognize from past gatherings. About a half dozen World War II era veterans present were recognized.
I also saw some younger faces. Some gathered still serve on active reserve or active duty. A few have not been in very long. I began thinking to myself, “Why are young American men and women still entering military service? Almost any member of our Armed Forces can be mobilized to Afghanistan or Iraq these days. Military service is all voluntary; there is no draft. Why are these young people still entering military service?”
I listened to the speakers remind us of the origin of Veteran’s Day – formerly Armistice Day – and I listened to them speak of the sacrifices made in order preserve our liberties. I was reminded of the oath that every member of the United States Armed Forces takes to “…support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…” In those moments, I reflected what those words have meant to me and countless others who have sworn this allegiance.
I did not swear to merely defend a piece of paper, no matter how historic this document is. It is the nation formed by that piece of paper. It is the power which that old document gives to all citizens of this nation to determine their government and, within boundaries of legal and moral obligations, to determine the course of their own lives. It is the belief that all Americans should enjoy the privilege of liberty and freedom. It is the unwavering truth that all of these principles of freedom are worth defending even to the very death. It is on this basis that all of the speakers talked about the honor of sacrifice that veterans have made. It is on this basis that young Americans continue to take up the mantle of sacrifice in order to preserve these vital liberties.
There are some today who scoff at this notion of honorable sacrifice. They make America and, hence, American servicemen and servicewomen out to be a conquering force bent on subjugating other less fortunate nations. Some are bent on spotlighting every mistake and failure made at every level of leadership during a war and making those out to be the defining nature of American military forces.
Why do young American men and women continue to serve? Because they know that suffering through the nonsense of those who denigrate their service and sacrifice, the mistakes and failures of our political leadership, and even the confusing sequences of orders issued by their senior military personnel is worth the real reason for supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. They know that in spite of every adversity thrown at them, that they want their parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters, wives and husbands, and sons and daughters to continue to live in the greatest, freest nation in the history of the world.
Thank you, each and every veteran who has served or is serving in defense of America!
I also saw some younger faces. Some gathered still serve on active reserve or active duty. A few have not been in very long. I began thinking to myself, “Why are young American men and women still entering military service? Almost any member of our Armed Forces can be mobilized to Afghanistan or Iraq these days. Military service is all voluntary; there is no draft. Why are these young people still entering military service?”
I listened to the speakers remind us of the origin of Veteran’s Day – formerly Armistice Day – and I listened to them speak of the sacrifices made in order preserve our liberties. I was reminded of the oath that every member of the United States Armed Forces takes to “…support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…” In those moments, I reflected what those words have meant to me and countless others who have sworn this allegiance.
I did not swear to merely defend a piece of paper, no matter how historic this document is. It is the nation formed by that piece of paper. It is the power which that old document gives to all citizens of this nation to determine their government and, within boundaries of legal and moral obligations, to determine the course of their own lives. It is the belief that all Americans should enjoy the privilege of liberty and freedom. It is the unwavering truth that all of these principles of freedom are worth defending even to the very death. It is on this basis that all of the speakers talked about the honor of sacrifice that veterans have made. It is on this basis that young Americans continue to take up the mantle of sacrifice in order to preserve these vital liberties.
There are some today who scoff at this notion of honorable sacrifice. They make America and, hence, American servicemen and servicewomen out to be a conquering force bent on subjugating other less fortunate nations. Some are bent on spotlighting every mistake and failure made at every level of leadership during a war and making those out to be the defining nature of American military forces.
Why do young American men and women continue to serve? Because they know that suffering through the nonsense of those who denigrate their service and sacrifice, the mistakes and failures of our political leadership, and even the confusing sequences of orders issued by their senior military personnel is worth the real reason for supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. They know that in spite of every adversity thrown at them, that they want their parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters, wives and husbands, and sons and daughters to continue to live in the greatest, freest nation in the history of the world.
Thank you, each and every veteran who has served or is serving in defense of America!
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