Today is Veteran's Day, a time when we all take a moment to recall November 11, 1918 when the guns of war fell silent on distant shores and ushered in a turbulent peace with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in June the following year. Much of what we've experienced in the 100 years since then has been a direct result of that war, that treaty. From World War II to Vietnam and the Middle East, many conflicts owe their origins to a lack of foresight by the leaders in the room on that day. Harsh punishments against Germany and doors shut in people's faces who would later take the world stage such as Ho Chi Minh, were the seeds of future wars.
Today we thank our soldiers for their service and we say to them never forget. What does never forget mean though? It seems like today its only words, uttered to make us feel okay with not really thinking about what we're asking our young citizens, mostly from blue collar, lower income and poor families, to sacrifice. Often times the military for them is a way to step up the financial staircase to make a better life - to get to college and a decent paying job that lets them actually pursue the happiness many of us take for granted. Many of them come home broken, physically and emotionally, with injuries that may never heal.
World War I was a miserable war. It unleashed chemical weapons like mustard gas and it was one of the deadliest wars ever. It's estimated that 16 million people died in that war with around 37 million casualties - military and civilian combined.
We owe it to our soldiers to never forget. The casualties of today's wars are tomorrow's enemies that we then send our sons and daughters off to fight. With the ending of the draft many Americans have been able to ignore wars and those fighting them and to pay lip service with bumper stickers and empty words that demand nothing from us. It's easy to support a war when your kid, your Mom and Dad, aren't off fighting in it.
Never forget means knowing how your elected officials vote when it comes to war and why. Never forget means holding the Congress accountable and not allowing them to hand a President a blank check to make war. Never forget means our active duty military are paid well and have health care benefits for themselves and their families. Never forget means honest, comprehensive debate about the rationale for and the consequences of any war before we send a single soldier off to fight. Never forget means demanding the VA is fully funded to take care of our soldiers and veterans, and not just their physical injuries but their emotional ones as well. Never forget means there should not be a single homeless veteran in this country. Never forget means educating yourself and writing letters, calling and attending town halls of your elected representatives to ensure they're passing legislation to protect and provide for our veterans and active duty military. Never forget means showing up to vote. Until we do all this, they're just meaningless words.
Lastly, thank you for your service Dad, Grandpa, Uncle Al, Uncle Bud, Uncle Don, Uncle Nich, and Patrick.
