Voltaire said, "I do not agree with a word you say, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it".
I have just returned from the National Convention of the Disabled American Veterans. I must admit that up until my husband became Commander of our local unit, all I knew was that the DAV truck would come and pick up stuff I didn't want and then sell it in a store in Memphis. But since then and since the convention, I have come to appreciate more what it means to be a veteran.
You see, I spent a week with men and women for whom the war never ended. They live minus limbs, with diabetes and heart failure, COPD, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, every single day since they were shipped home. And yet, to the man/woman, they were proud of their service to their country and glad to be alive. I am still in awe of these men and women who fought for our rights, whether they agreed with them or not.
They fought for the "right" to burn the very flag they fought for, to protest cuts to veteran's rights, to burn the president, their commander-in-chief from whom they took their orders, in effigy, the right to kill babies and disrespect the flag, the anthem, and any other patriotic tradition. Some even fought to the death for our right to disagree with one another, peacefully or violently. They fought and are proud to say they were in (WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Grenada, Afganistan, Operation Iraqui Freedom, or Operation Enduring Freedom) to protect all the rights not only that we enjoy, but that should be enjoyed the world over.
So I have decided for a while to change the focus of my blog to talk a little about what a wonderful, unappreciated country we live in. To talk of freedom, tradition, and yes, apathy.
I wonder if you had walked by the Sheridan in Denver, Colorado last week and seen and heard what I saw and heard, if the apathy we as a nation have developed would have continued. To quote a worn out cliche, "Freedom isn't free." A lesson I learned all to well last week.
