Yesterday we in America honored our veterans, setting aside a day to respect their service, courage and sacrifice. We are right to recognize and pay homage to veterans, but it neither should start, nor stop, on a single day. Veterans are our family members and friends, our neighbors and our co-workers. They are here year-round, their service is year-round and America’s efforts towards them should reflect it. Today America is at war, but for too many their is little sense of shared sacrifice. There is too much distance between the reality of the soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and other hostile territories, and the lives of most Americans.
Bob Herbert writes in today’s New York Times:
“As much as possible, the reality of war is kept at a distance from the American people, which is a shame. My own belief is that the pain of war should be much more widely shared. That would help guard us against wars that are unnecessary, and ensure a more collective effort in those that are inevitable.”
I cannot agree more with what Bob has written.
I would add that our veterans need better consideration, not just understanding, in the field of battle and at home. As much as I applaud the private donations and care packages of armor, batteries, medicine and toilet paper coming from private citizens - I am alarmed that our country apparently has not provided these basics for our troops starting with day one. It is shameful. Efforts in Illinois to help the troops at home, like Lt. Governor Pat Quinn’s work with OperationHomeFront are both admirable, and too little copied in our country. We can do better, and we should.
A lot of things are said in parades and speeches on Veterans Day - my hope is that we will continue to hear them well after November 11th, and that we will continue to hear them throughout the year. America’s debt to those serving in its military does not end with the end of a war.
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