![]() ![]() But some kind of acknowledgement may lie within your power. So I don’t urge you to go out and buy a vet a drink, necessarily, or to shake his hand or verbally thank her, nor to pass by and secretly despise her, if that’s your political stance. Vets, despite Thoreau’s attack, are all-too-human. Or to jingoism and fervor, or disillusionment, or even apathy. And, of course, today we have our own brands of wars, both declared and undeclared, which lead to shell shock, Gulf War Syndrome, PTSD, and the like. Thoreau lamented a Marine “such as can make a man, with its black arts.” Yet it’s hard to argue against the fact that, in the twentieth century, we can still point to our elder veterans, and say we owe them the continued existence our very way of life. Many of the founding fathers considered a “standing army” a great evil to be avoided, and in the 19th century Henry D. I posted this particular photo (taken several years ago) because these little guys are now grown enough to be serving in the armed forces today.Įveryone’s experience with the military, and attitude toward it, extend in a different degree, minute, and second of the compass. ![]() I haven’t been very active on the blog lately, but I’d like to offer a few thoughts to observe this important holiday, which many allow to pass unremarked year after year. ![]()
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