Mood:
specialTopic: Honoring them
November 11 was Veterans Day, not today, but the nation is celebrating it today because state and federal employees need a day off. Like Memorial Day, Veterans Day is a day of the year when we put our focus on those who went into service for our country, who put their lives on the line, and they certainly deserve recognition.
My brother, Jim, went to Vietnam and survived. Unlike most Vietnam vets I know, he escaped many of the "after effects." So many of those people are now in bad shape, either physically or mentally. I can't prove that their exposure to war or whatever they encountered during that phase in their lives was to blame, but it appears something affected them in some adverse way.
Our friend, Will, is dying of liver cancer, and he was in Vietnam, probably exposed to Agent Orange. I've known others who already made their transition. It seems so unfair that these people, who put their lives on the line for freedom and service, had to sacrifice so much. Will is the gentlest of souls, a really good person, and I admire his positive attitude and acceptance with so little time left.
My father was a veteran of the second world war as were my uncles. Back then, it seems war was a more glorious thing than it is now. At least back then, our country was united and fighting a threat that seemed real.
These modern "wars" are nothing but political games that profit only a few... the power-hungry, oil-thirsty, fear-pushing and misguided authorities who managed to con the rest of the world into costly and unnecessary conflicts that kill not only our troops, but so many innocent people on foreign soil. And for how many years will we be paying for it all? What excruciating debt has been placed upon our descendants?
I realize the military is a necessary part of our society. I believe in the security of a defending force and the idea of "peace keepers." They should be used here, to protect us from adversity, which also includes acts of nature (floods, fires, storms), and to help secure our borders. But it is wrong to exploit our sons and daughters in a drawn-out war for the greed of a few bad apples who gained power.
Thank you, Jim, Will, Neal, Chris, Frank (deceased), Chuck (deceased), Emma, Fred, Dad (deceased), Uncle Ken, Uncle Roger (deceased), and countless others who are veterans. Thank you for putting your lives on the line... I admire you!
