Free Because Of Their Sacrifice

Service in the military is a credential that deserves every American’s deepest respect.  Service in the military is an expression of love of country and a desire to keep men free.

From Mark Pryor, who insulted his opponent in his bid to be re-elected as senator for Arkansas, to some mealy-mouthed worm at Salon, there are those of my countrymen who have no idea what service means.

Honoring our veterans is not an act that deadens real democracy, it strengthens it.

I was moved to tears as I read an article from Great Britain’s Daily Mail reporting on the poignant tributes to her fallen heroes one hundred years after the start of World War I.

David Masciotra blithely wrote at Salon (I'll be damned if I'll link to that bastard), “It is equally challenging for anyone reasonable, and not drowning in the syrup of patriotic sentimentality, to stop saluting, and look at the servicemen of the American military with criticism and skepticism.”

In contrast, the Daily Mail article discussed an exhibit that captured the heart of that nation.  It was, in a word, eloquent.  The exhibit’s creator filled the moat of the Tower of London with red ceramic poppies—888,246 in all—one for each of the young men who died fighting for their country.  He called the exhibit “Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red.”

Millions of Britons have visited the Tower, including Her Majesty. Instead of closing the exhibit today—Remembrance Day—officials will continue it until the end of the month. Nigel Farage wiped tears from his eyes, as did the Queen.

In all, there are 84 photographs that depict the honor and respect of a people for a military that fought against tyranny.  Scrolling down the page, there is a picture of the stunning sight of all those poppies in the moat, another where someone tied a picture of a soldier of that time to a railing and in the background are the poppies.  There’s one heartbreaker of a little four-year-old boy who laid a wreath made of poppies in honor of his father whom he never met.  There are others which I hope you will take the time to view.

Make no mistake, I know the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day, but it is important that America realize that our world would be a nightmare without the service and sacrifice of the men and women who served and are serving in America’s military in order to make men free.

It has been said that we are only alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. Our veterans are our treasures—precious treasures that remind us of why America is a beacon to the world.

No liberal agenda, no politician, no community organizer, no hack writer at some delusional magazine speaks for me.  I clamor for the syrup of patriotic sentimentality, I will not stop saluting our service men and women and I will never stop honoring their service.  God bless ‘em all.