Taking Time out for Veteran’s Day
Thursday, November 11th, 2010This is the 92nd November since the end of the first ‘Great War’. What was originally known as Armistice Day has transformed into Veteran’s Day and although the name may have changed the sentiment is still alive. This is a day to honor those who have served in our nation’s armed forces. For nearly a century since the end of the First World War, our troops have been deployed all over the world and put their lives on the line for the sake of their country. Their sacrifice is truly noble and we should all take some time today to reflect on the millions who have served the Red, White and Blue.
Today, 92 years since the end of the war that was supposed to end all wars, we find ourselves embroiled in yet another conflict – one that has no clear end in sight. The conflicts that are currently raging in the Helmund highlands and the neighborhoods of Baghdad are again taking their toll on those who don the uniforms of the United States military. It is our sacred duty to only put our soldiers in harm’s way when it is absolutely necessary. The deployment of troops to the Middle East, and especially Iraq, was hastily done in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. The repercussions of war are always hard to conceptualize for civilians far from a foreign battlefield. The atmosphere that enveloped the country in 2003 was an understandable but not acceptable explanation for the invasion of Iraq. Thousands of Iraqi civilians and American soldiers have been killed in the years following, a high price indeed considering the shaky evidence that brought us there. Our commitment is now a certainty and we must see this battle to the end so as not to forsake and make vain the deaths that we have already endured. It seems that every generation must re-learn the cost of war despite the warnings from those who were “over there.”
The soldiers who came back from World War I were scarred, including those who were physically in one piece. They had seen the horrors of war and did not want the world, and their children, to ever have to experience them. So let us honor those who fought before us and heed what they tell. War is hell and it should never be approached lightly, no matter the circumstances.

