Veteran's Day

Thursday is Veteran's Day. And as I see the platitudes and shared facebook statuses begin, I want to add my two cents to the apparently insincere masses.

I love freedom. I like being able to do what I want when I want how I want. America has a lot of problems. But they all pale in the light of the freedom we have. This is why America is and always will be the greatest country on Earth, no matter how hard we work to fuck it up and how many problems we manage to create. Because, at its fundamental roots, it's about freedom.

Now, whenever you have something nice, there is going to be someone who is jealous and wants to take it away from you. This is human nature. It doesn't matter if it is an order of fries, a Cadillac Escalade or a government of self-determination and opportunity...someone is waiting to take it from you. As such, we have to be prepared to defend our nice thing. That's where the military comes in.

The armed forces are there in defense of our way of life. Because of this, they are to be respected. And Veterans, which are current and past members of the military, are also to be respected. At all times.

It matters not that they may not be altruistic (they get paid.) It matters not that some of them had, due to various circumstances, little in the way of other opportunities. It matters not that some can and have chosen to use them offensively, as a sword, rather than a shield. It matters not that we spend lots and lots and LOTS of money on them. Those are all fair points worthy of discussion and examination. But they do not compromise the respect.

It doesn't matter than fighting really never solves anything. It doesn't matter that our maintenance of such a significant force may have exacerbated the very problems they are meant to solve or lessen. It doesn't even matter if you believe that your God has told you that military deaths are caused by the existence of homosexuals. None of this, indeed, nothing at all, compromises that respect.

The men and women of the armed forces have taken the brave step of devoting a portion of their days on this earth towards the defense of our freedom. They have put up their very lives as possible payment for this freedom. You enjoy the freedom. Even if you hate it, you enjoy it. If you didn't enjoy it, you would have already left. So, you have NO CHOICE but to respect them for it. Disagree, dislike and even argue against, but DO SO WITH RESPECT. If, for no other reason, then because I said so.



You can ignore Veteran's Day. You can roll your eyes at the dumb statuses that friends on Facebook will ask you to 'post for one hour.' You can delete the chain emails that tell you to send this to 10 people if you appreciate Veterans. You can even tell yourself that I am an idiot as you read this. (wouldn't be the first time.) You can do all these things because you are free to do so. And you are free to do so because many many souls have been sacrificed in the name of that freedom. So, when you do this things, do them respectfully and in remembrance of that.