No ruckus necessary SDR. I just think we need some education in our nation. In the same way, folks have been brought up to believe that Memorial Day is for all of our fallen loved ones, when it is truly meant to honor those who lost their lives in battle. The meaning of the holiday has been lost, and our fallen heroes are lost in the mix with it.
You are absolutely correct in saying our military deserves our recognition. I'm just afraid too many have been brought up to think July Fourth has been set aside to honor those who served in World War II and those who have served since. We are short-sighted when we fail to honor those for whom the holiday is designed to honor, and they get lost in the mix of our efforts to honor a more inclusive group.
I sat in a chair in my driveway, last night, and closed my eyes for several minutes, trying to appreciate the sounds and smells of battle. The uneven cadence of popping and booming and cracking filled my imagination with scenes of Valley Forge. My nose was filled with the smells of gunpowder that lingers in our still air. I thought to myself, this does not show me the true sense of war. I do not feel the urgency of escape, the fear of death, the anxiety of losing my family. I do not hear the cries of pain, the shrieks of danger, the grunts of effort, or the moans of agony. No movie, no matter how graphic, can match the truth of war, whether revolutionary, civil, or police action, whether worldwide or isolated on an island in the South Pacific. I then opened my eyes and looked at my family - my wife, my son, and my daughter - and I realized, without the founders and the fighters, my life would be much different.
