I teach about veterans and military culture and have done talks on those subjects. I have worked in the VA system and on funded projects aimed at preventing veteran suicides. I have worked with non-profit organizations supporting our warriors, especially SOF. Of course, I am a veteran. I work in a world where that is unusual and the warrior spirit of commitment and sacrifice are alien to most. Their idea of sacrifice is getting up at 9 to be in class. They need safe zones to hide from evil words, while warriors face bullets and bombs.
I do not take advantage of the day's offerings of free or reduced price stuff. To be honest, I consider all of that lip service, feel good balm for those critics who sit at home and pontificate - taking one day a year and increasing your customer flow by offering 10% off of food, drink, or products on which you make an 80% profit. Also I was fortunate to spend 10 years of serving in times of relative peace - I wrote the blank check that would have been paid to my nation if necessary, but was fortunate never to have that nation cash it.
The "thank you" gestures are probably noble and more sincere than my cynical mind makes them out to be, but if you want to help, then do so year-round and make it substantial enough to make a difference. In my work, I see too many veterans who are left to fend for themselves. No glitzy ads, no official statements to the generic and nameless veterans. Do something to affect individuals.
This is not to say I am not appreciative of the sentiments of friends, family, and the many veteran friends that I have. I am thankful for all of them. But partly that is because they know me, I know them, these are personal sentiments, sentiments I know are heartfelt. They are not a University president, making some blanket statement with a fake smile, spouting platitudes and who is likely more interested in the material rewards it will bring her than in the topic of the email. You have to know the individuals, hear their stories, see the nature of their tribe, their honor to really make the sentiment mean something. Thankfully for our veterans, they are a cohesive group and just as their major motivation to survive is to be sure the warrior to their right and left survives, when they come back to fight the battle for reintegration, they are once more ready to give all for their fellows. But the rest of us need to follow suit - and not just one day out of 365 give a nod and a grin and handshake and a quick "Thank you for your service".
And let's be sure we understand that this is not just a warrior's sacrifice, but the sacrifice of the family as well. While we honor our veterans we have to remember their families, who also serve in so many ways. Many now suffer the absence of loved ones and all continue to deal with the effects of the commitment and sacrifice that was made.
Not a day for politics, so I will leave that there.
Well - except to say that I served under two presidents many decades ago - neither were my favorite. To be honest I never thought of them but of my job and the soldiers with whom I trained and worked - or who, as I rose in rank and responsibility, I was charged to train so that they might survive when our time came.
I know many who are now serving or recently served and have no love for the administration under which they have served or are serving. Let us remember that, while we have people in the streets, smashing windows, attacking others and burning flags, these warriors fought and some have died defending the ideals of that flag. Not the president of the day, but the ideals of the nation. While some cry and say they are "afraid" of what is to come, consider the fear that those warriors have faced when they have seen death; that of their opponents, their friends or even the prospect of their own.
We have to hope that some number of brave souls will continue to see the ideals of this nation as worth fighting and dying for and not turn to selfish motivations such as taking a knee when they are called.
Out.
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