Patriotism is supporting your country all the time,
and your government when it deserves it."
- Mark
Twain
There is little to say about tomorrow that hasn’t been said
many times, by many people.
There is little to feel about tomorrow that hasn’t been felt
many times, by many families – brothers…sisters…parents…cousins, aunts and/or
uncles.
There is an uncontrollable, and heightened human chemistry
when a loved one is in harms way. The busyness of the day masks the
quiet, ever present gnawing thoughts that sit beneath razor thin membranes of
our minds, hoping against hope for their safe return.
A lot of hearts...
Less than one percent of the American population are on
active duty, compared with somewhere in the neighborhood of nine percent during
times of war in previous decades. A relatively small number compared
with the 314 million people who live here.
A relatively small number until you consider that is 3.1
million men and women who serve at any given time in the United States Armed
Services. A large percentage of these folk have been to the theatre
of war more than once…many more than three or four times. Each time
there is an increased sense of concern, sometimes helplessness, in those left
behind, as they watch their family member depart. Nobody wants the
knock on the door…
I am a veteran of the Vietnam conflict, and every day I was
away, my family prayed that their son, brother, cousin and nephew would have a
safe return. Everyday I was away, I thought about the things
familiar to me in a homeland I was unsure I would see once again.
Floyd Eberhard…
My wife’s father was a career soldier, serving in the Korean
and Vietnam conflicts. He was a good man, a decent man, an
honorable man, an honest man and he was a patriot. You never heard
of him. You never felt the resonance of his laugh, nor the clarity
of his eye…the intellect he possessed, nor the gratitude he felt to live in
this land. BUT those of you reading this blog in the United States
were protected by this man…by this man and so many others who knew life is not
kind to all…not fair to everyone – a man who understood the importance of work
and discipline and duty for others…for others.
His family – three children and a wife – understood the
sacrifice. They understood the sacrifice, but in their humanity as with
all whose people are in danger, they prayed…they hoped…they
endured. Their family, like mine, was rewarded with our return.
So many were not…so many were not!
While my view of recent wars in which our country has been
engaged, is one of uncertainty, there is NO uncertainty regarding the men and
women who have volunteered to defend this country…willing to make the ultimate
sacrifice. It’s hard to appreciate that some people are wired like
that.
Privileged indeed...
We live in a land most of us take so much for granted that
it boggles the mind. As we sit in front of our wide-screen TVs,
strive to consume more and more things, go to social events relatively
unimpeded, and move through our cities, counties, states and country at
will…most do not appreciate what a truly dangerous world we live
in. Most of us only know people in other lands by what we see on
cable news or National Geographic specials regarding other cultures…beautifully
edited for color and storyline. Life in this world, for the vast
majority of human beings…the VAST MAJORITY…has little in the way of
“...beautifully edited…” anything.
So for tonight when each of us goes to bed and breathes a
prayer for the day past…tomorrow morning when each of us gets up to greet a new
day…when each of us looks at our children or spouse or significant other or
speaks to someone, with whom we have a relationship of meaning…surely thank God
for the things we have.
But in this land…in this country, for all its difficulties
and flaws – thank God for the young men and women who have been willing,
regardless of the call and the era in which they served, to risk their lives
for all we have been given.
To my brothers and sisters who have sacrificed time or life,
and particularly for those who are in ‘…arms and harms way…’
Thank You!
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