Hi everyone,
Well, today was Memorial Day. I had a very good day off today, how about you? But seriously, I went out for a walk, did some reading, and played tennis with some of my family and friends. In the back of my mind this weekend, though, were the people this holiday was meant to honor. Those in our nation's uniform who sacrificed, some giving their lives, so that our land might be free, peaceful and prosperous. On Saturday, the President also paid tribute to them in his weekly youtube address to the nation. This post may be inappropriate, since this is a day of remembrance, rather than of excess commentary. But this is America, and free speech, even slightly inappropriate speech, is a right fought for by those veterans, so I am going to use it here. Even if it's painful, I'm going to use it.
On this subject, I have some conflicting feelings. Not about the men and women themselves. They are some of the best and most noble people around, in my view. They stand for the strength of our country's aspirations around the World. Giving so much in service of only those ideas, exerting so much energy and enduring so much hardship is something I admire very much in people. Some of my relatives, including my grandfather, a few of my uncles, and some of my friends from high school, have been or are now, in the US military. So the issue is not a question of my attitude towards those who serve; this has always been how I felt.
As much as I wish to honor our veterans and those who have been lost in battle, I wholeheartedly do not like war and I would like to see it prevented wherever possible. I realize, of course, that there were times were war was needed in the past, and I cannot appreciate enough the value of their struggle and sacrifice. Nonetheless, I see it as a task of mine to heal pain and suffering in this world. To me, this would mean preventing war and utilizing peace whenever possible. I mean these words I say about our veterans, I do. However, when I start hearing this kind of talk a lot, I find myself getting skeptical. It is often when these words are shouted the loudest that the words that need to be said are not heard.
Let's take our most recent struggle, that ongoing campaign against violent terrorism. As 9/11 happened, people all around the country gave something, from donating blood to a hospital to risking life and limb by rushing into the flaming towers, for fellow countrymen in need. It was on that day that ordinary people displayed these traits that we all prize in Americans, or indeed, in any person. In the following months, our soldiers, along with those from many other countries, bravely went into Afghanistan to oust the diabolical Taliban and Al Qaeda.
However, during this time, the government was preparing us for another war, subjecting prisoners to sadistic torture rather than legal interrogations, which work, by the way. And then, there is the fact that this was war, and as such, there are many tragedies that go along with it. Too often, civilans are incinerated, women and children maimed and killed in the midst of war. It is often in war that the basic elements of humanity are lost. Many soldiers who return safely from the battlefield are wounded or scarred for life. So this is why I grow skeptical of so much talk of military.
So then I am left with the question of how to best honor our veterans and those who fell on the battlefield. Now, the only thing coming to my mind is to make this country which they gave up so much for as good as I can make it. I love this country, American, I always have, and I always will. Even when I was deeply concerned about the direction it was going, I still loved it. I see as the best option for this end to make it the primary force for healing suffering, establishing common good in the world. Another way to honor our veterans and fallen is the obvious, to give them the care they need, and help them establish their life anew, because if anyone has earned the shot at a decent life, it's them.
A third way, perhaps, is to encourage peace. Our military is there for our defense, our security, and to put down threats so that peace can be established when the threat is past. The task of encouraging peace is no easy one, the world being what it is now. It is not easy, but necessary. The things most worth doing seldom are easy. How do we do this? There are a multitude of ways to go about this, which I don't have time to detail here.
One idea I'd like to throw out is the creation of another holiday. We have two holidays (memorial day and veterans day) dedicated to our servicemen and women, but none dedicated to the cause of peace. I'm not saying that these should be gotten rid of, on the contrary, they need to be respected. But a holiday, perhaps like Earth Day, could be set aside to promote peace, justice, working for the greater good, could be established. This may encourage people to do this in some way, large or small, in their own way at least one day a year.
Anyway, these are my ideas for how to best honor those who sacrificed for our country, even if, like me, you seek to establish a more peaceful world, and a more perfect union. If these ideas are inappropriate, so be it. My ideas and vision aren't perfect, but to even have the chance to begin from these imperfect ideas is to have a chance given by those who fought for that freedom on battlefields where it was threatened. For that, I will always be grateful to them. These are just my ideas, though. I'd like to hear yours.
This is the Daily Reeder, Over&out.
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