In the beginning of a change,
the patriot is a scarce man,
and brave, and hated and scorned.
When his cause succeeds,
the timid join him,
for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.
~Mark Twain, Notebook, 1935
These words do indeed ring true. It wasn't all that long ago that war protesters were a ubitiquous presence on the nightly news, vilifying our soldiers with ugly epithets and vindictive speech. Many of those who shouted the loudest would later collectively (and rightly) thank our soldiers for bringing down 'the bad guy' - as if one man controlled the terror button for all the world.
At various times we experience a collective enthusiasm for using our military might to attack or defend the "right" friend or enemy, often depending more heavily on political will and pragmatic considerations than on simple moral conviction. It is ironic, really, that we ordinary citizens, who are spared the hideous horrors of war up-front, are the ones consulted in the court of public opinion regarding what the nation's stance should be, and our opinions - hawk and dove alike - become the face of our national will. Recipients ourselves of the soldier-borne freedom to recline peacefully in our Lazy-Boys, comfortably ensconced in our climate-controlled living rooms, we are elevated to arbiters of actions whose origins or details have never encountered the challenge of our limited understanding.
We are not wrong to hold opinions on these matters; in fact it is our right, purchased at no small cost. Our military men and women stand ready to defend the cause of such freedoms, based not on their own personal feelings, but on something larger. Their campaigns are not waged in the marketplace of ideas where losses are tallied by arguments won, but in the dusty battlefields of far-off lands where blood is spilled aplenty, and from whence a steady stream of hushed heroes silently return from across the sea to be remembered, honored and buried on the soil they swore to defend.
The honor we hold for those who lost their lives should be copiously bestowed on the heroes they leave behind. Every veteran has given more than we can ever know to protect our freedoms, despite the political winds that blow without ceasing. They deserve our praise each and every day.
We salute our Veterans in every branch of the military. Your sacrifices past, present and future are remembered and honored. A grateful nation remembers her protectors.
"The nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten."
- Calvin Coolidge
