Some Gave All
Originally published at Durosia.com. You can comment here or there.
I had something more elaborate planned. Something with links to all the news stories that prompt rants that never actually make it onto the page. Something that incorporated some of the ideas I was reminded of while going through Mount Vernon this weekend. Something... that's more coherent than my sleep deprived mind can currently handle.
But what it all comes down to is this: Those we send off to fight and die do so not for the land we stand upon or the flag that flies above it. They do it for the ideas and ideals that shaped the land and give the symbol of the flag meaning.
Those ideas and ideas are simple and universal: Freedom. Opportunity. Justice. Knowledge. Wisdom.
These are the things that make up what has been called "The American Way of Life" for quite some time.
To speak in shorthand, we say they died for their Country. But they didn't. They died for what the country stands for. For what made it shine far beyond many other nations that came before it and made it an example for all those that came after.
That image has been tarnished considerably in recent years. There has been a slow decline (recently accelerating) of the U.S. not quite living up to The American Way of Life. We have slid from a proud nation, a leader among the citizens of the world, to the status of an egotistical, childish bully who doesn't know when to think instead of act and most certainly does not play well with others (unless he's getting his way).
The ideals of America have been twisted, making nationalism and false patriotism more important than honest action and free thought. We have become reactionary and short sighted, letting our immediate fears erode our future one legislated blow or rescinded right at a time.
It is no ones fault but our own. We the People have let this happen.
And, yet, our soldiers still put their lives on the line every day to help keep The American Way of Life alive. They fight not for what is, but for what should be.
They die so that we have the chance to make things right.
I have the utmost respect and admiration for our military men and women. They do a job that I would not want to do.
As much as I respect those men and women, I have an equal amount of disdain for those who squander our soldier's most precious dedication. Those in command who seek glory above substance, who have brought us to his dark place in American history, who have led us into fear and seem perfectly content to keep us under the specter of imminent destruction just so they can maintain their illusion of power.
They may honor our fallen warriors in word, but they do not do so in action.
And, as we all know, actions speak louder than words.
On this most somber of holidays, honor those who have fought for you way of life by living up to their example.
Speak out against those who dishonor our fallen men and women. Act like the America we once were, even if it was always "just" a high-minded dream.
This is a war we're all part of and it is fought here at home. We the People are always on the front lines. Why? Because without us, there is no country, no meaning to the flag and no one to shake the hands and thank the soldiers that do return.