Today We Honor Veterans—The Heart of Our Nation
At the heart of any society is a group of people that have made sacifices, mustered a unique willingness, and chosen action over indifference to protect and defend the existance of that society. Our society is no different, we have a group called VETERANS. What is this member of our society?
This person is one who believes in the way of living we enjoy, democracy, so strongly that he has made the decision to become a worker in the service of his country as a defender of the principles for which we stand. This person has decided to be strong for those who can not, or will not, be strong in the face of an enemy to our cause. This person is willing to give all that he (or she) is, or ever will be, to make sure that others can achieve the dreams and goals they so freely choose. The veteran of today has been of service to all of the people who live in this country, whether he agrees with them or not—he knows the value of the freedom some take for granted, some see as a right rather than a privledge, but all of us enjoy.
At some time in the life of every veteran, serving in time of peace or war, that veteran has gained an insight to himself that only he can see. This person called a veteran has seen the foundation of his very being. All of us who have served has done things he felt he could never do, with a group of people he thought he would never know, for a group of people he did not understand. We all were willing to sacrifice our lives for those with whom we do not and did not agree, simply because we believe it is the right thing to do.
Whether or not we believe this nation is strong or healthy—we should be grateful for the healthy heart of our society, the veteran. Without this society’s vereran heart, we could not freely voice our opinion, we could not enjoy our personal freedom (to be either right or wrong), and we could not have our influence (vote) on the direction our society would take.
Even if we do not agree with a war, we should say thank you to those who did, or were willing to go to war to protect our right to disagree. Today, and every day, I want all veterans to know that I appreciate the privledges I enjoy. I want all veterans to know that I am glad to have the freedom and the way of life— the sense of security that I know— only because they were willing to serve.
I am a veteran—and I say to my fellow veterans Thank You— I would gladly serve with you again, should the need ever arise.