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| A Salute to Veterans |
| 2005-11-11 |
| Part of the genius of our American political system is that the people who actually fight our wars are not allowed to start them. However powerful, our military forces always remain under civilian control, so that even the most decorated general or admiral is still a rank lower than the commander in chief elected by the people. However, this subordination does not diminish the military's stature in most Americans' eyes; instead it enhances it. Perhaps because it takes even more courage to head into a fight you did not pick, such as the one now raging in Iraq. No matter one's views of the necessity of that war or the way it is being waged, the sheer, heart-stopping bravery on display every day by the Americans stationed in Iraq is undeniable. Indeed, our all-volunteer military is a constant reminder to all terrorists and their sympathizers around the globe that our young people, too, are also willing to die for a cause. Except our cause is freedom, while theirs is quite the opposite. So on this Veterans Day, we salute the men and women of the armed forces with gratitude and awe, especially those who came back home on crutches or in flag-draped coffins. These valiant warriors have earned their place in a long, proud tradition: "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he today that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile This day shall gentle his condition: And gentlemen in [America], now a-bed Shall think themselves accursed they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us ..." - Shakespeare's "Henry V." |
| Posted by:Bobby |