Reminder

Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Halloween. These are most of the holidays that we associate with the word itself. I've always been a person that's been a little off beat, I've got no issues admitting this. Today has always been one of my favorite holidays. Ever since I was old enough to understand (in some way) the sacrifices that people in my family and individuals in other families across the country have made for me and my way of life, I have appreciated a day like today. With so many things going on in the world, and as complicated as the national and international political climate has grown we need to be reminded of those who have and who currently are serving to protect our freedoms. You may not agree with what is going on in the world right now, and you may not agree with the fact that our troops signed up for a job that our president has sent them to do, you still have to thank them for what they do. They willingly place their lives on the line so you can disagree with what our leaders have decided to act upon, unfounded reasons or not.

For the most part, our generation doesn't know what it's like to have to give up your friends and your family to travel thousands of miles to fight and die for a belief, an ideal that you may not fully understand. Am I saying that my generation is soft? No, I wouldn't go that far as to say that my generation could not rise to the occasion if we were called upon to do so. What I am saying, is that we do not have the events that our grandparents did over 60 years ago to draw from. I think that deep down when you put aside all of the disagreements, all of the heated political discussions you may or may not take part in, we are all under the same banner. Like it or not, that person that you disagree with is just as American as you are.

Being united is truely a magnificant sight. It's a shame that the only time we can stand united is in the face of tragedy. Of course, any civics or government class will teach you is that the friction created from this is what keeps us balanced. You can't hide the fact people disagreeing create everyday what we stand upon. The reason our country was founded was because we disagreed, we stood up and fought for something we believe in. Even if it was a bunch of middle class white men who didn't want to pay taxes and/or owned slaves. That's a whole other issue of course. But I digress from my point.

I do, however, disagree with President Bush using today and his opportunity to speak to call his detractors traitors and unpatriotic. What is treacherous is censoring the basic human right to have a free thought and a free mind. If the President doesn't like what people say about him, maybe he should stop pointing the finger at everyone else and own up to the fact that we made a mistake. A large one. People have died because of this mistake. And while I fully believe that yes, the troops do sign up for the war they are in, you would pray that the people in charge would only put them in harms way if only completely necessary. However, think about this one for awhile. Had we done the same thing to Hitler that we did with Sadaam would we have had to fight the war that we did? Had Sadaam had the resources that Hitler did, would the result have been the same? Once again, i'm getting off the subject.

Today is a day for the men, women, and children who have died in the name of liberty and protecting your ability to live and breathe as a free human. It's for every person that has laced up a pair of boots and faced a faceless enemy, it's for everyone who died on and survived September 11th, it's for everyone that has died in a foreign embassy in Africa, it's for the people that have grieved for the ones that have fought and died in every war or battle this country has been involved it. It's for you and me. So, even though the day is almost over, it's not too late to stop in the middle of what you are doing and realize that it is on the backs of others sacrificing their lives you can read what I am writting. Someone you have never met has given you the gift to do what you have done today. No matter how boring or monotonous or mundane. Don't ever forget that, remind yourself as often as you can. Everytime you are driving behind an elderly man driving 10 miles an hour under the speed limit with a veteran's license plate, remember that he has seen people die for you, he's killed for you so you could complain about his driving. Otherwise if he didn't, you may be doing it in German.

Think about it...