Without the nation’s veterans, nothing would be as it is in the
United States of America.
We would not be enjoying -- or suffering -- the day after a hotly
contested race for the presidency.
We would not live in a country in which equal rights are guaranteed by
law.
We would not enjoy free speech without fear of being jailed for our words.
We could be paying homage to a monarch, to a dictator, to an emperor.
We could be living hapless and helpless lives directed from cradle to
grave by faceless central planners.
We could be living in fear instead of freedom. We could be living under
constant threat rather than under the constant protection of the nation’s armed
forces.
As generation succeeds generation, these once very real possibilities seem
remote -- receding into memory. They should not.
It’s been a little more than 50 years since the end of World War II.
America has barely had time to sort out the events of that era or to truly understand how
close the democratic nations of the world came to losing the war.
With unprecedented prosperity -- the promise of an SUV in every driveway
and education for every child -- it’s easy to forget life isn’t this good
everywhere. It’s easy to forget that life in America today was built on the flesh,
bone and blood of men and women who fought, suffered or died in the service of freedom.
Veteran’s Day is Saturday. Let us not forget. Let us teach our
children that the day means more than the closure of the U.S. Post Office.
Let us honor it as a day for a very humble and heartfelt thank-you to all
American veterans.
