I have a lot of thoughts on the military on the occasion of this Veterans Day. The great respect I have for those who have and do serve, both among my family and friends and in the country at large. My grandfather, my great uncle, my godfather, my cousins, one of my closest friends and even some of my newest friends. I am grateful for what they have done, for the kind of human beings so many soldiers are, and the leaven they provide to our society. For the sacrifice, the sadness, the scars they bear that nobody can see.
But I also reflect on those who send our soldiers into battle. Our cynical government, teaching our military that the very people they are sworn to protect are, as often as not, the enemy. The politicians who choose to send young men and women who want nothing more than to serve their country with honor into war zones of questionable legality and moral justification, for inscrutable ends, and with insufficient means to accomplish unclear goals. The policymakers who keep military chaplains on furlough over petty politics, and who are even now (according to some military personnel I’ve spoken with) discussing the idea of dismantling the chaplain corps altogether. The commanders willing to toe the party line who are being swiftly promoted to replace those currently being purged from the ranks of our military after long careers of often distinguished service but suddenly under charges of misconduct. Even if that misconduct is truly nothing but the color of their skin or the mien of their political philosophy.
I doubt there’s a red-blooded American man who hasn’t, for at least some period of time, given consideration to joining our military. I certainly did, even though I ultimately chose another path. But in 2013, I can’t imagine sending my sons with a clear conscience to follow the orders of those in command of our armed forces, particularly our unscrupulous commander in chief.
Our soldiers deserve our gratitude and respect. But they also need our prayers that they will always have the courage to do what is right, and not only what they are ordered to do.
Very good reflection, Steve. I would like to add also that it gives me pause that our military veterans and soldiers who had recently died in Afghanistan were used as political pawns during the government shutdown. What does the future hold….depends on how long Americans stay asleep as to what is happening in Washington DC. God bless and help the USA!
I would hardly even dare to call myself “red-blooded,” but I DID consider joining the military. Exactly once: at 9/11.
My father fought for America in World War II, as a recent immigrant from Nazi Germany. It took until 9/11/2001 before I finally felt that a war had come that was really in self-defense (unlike Panama, Grenada, etc., etc.). However, I was already too old by then.
A couple of years later, they raised the enlistment age, but they were already on to Iraq, which obviously had zero to do with self-defense.
“For the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil.”
And 2/3 of a trillion bucks a year = all sorts of money.
As a Veteran, I am disgusted you would post a picture of the American flag being flown upside down. What a way to say thank you. I would not call you red-blooded; more like yellow-bellied. That picture does not convey a sense of gratitude or respect.
Since you are a veteran, I assume you know what the meaning of the upside down flag is: a symbol or warning of extreme distress, which our country is experiencing right now — culturally, politically, economically.
Plenty of veterans have themselves flown the flag this way to draw attention to various political issues. It isn’t meant as a sign of ingratitude or disrespect. It is meant to convey the sense of urgency with which the problems we are facing need to be addressed to restore order to our republic.
I’m still looking at the Navy Reserves, myself, but the spirit of the air in the military these days does give me pause.