Dear Readers:
Today is Memorial Day, a day to remember those who fought and died for our freedoms, including the freedom to protest our own government. Whatever your political stripes are – Republican Red, Democrat Blue, or Third Party White – please take the time today to remember those who gave all on foreign soil to ensure the continued safety of those back home; for they are not here to remind you of their sacrifice.
We live in an era where war on foreign soil is questioned. Why are we there? What business do we have invading a sovereign country and establishing a new government, modeled after our own no less? Our military who risked all and even gave all may also have asked these same questions, but when duty called they answered; putting aside their personal feelings in favor of support of their country. How many of us today would be willing to submit to conscription as a requirement of citizenship?
There is a reason that the men and women of World War II – it was their forefathers for whom Memorial Day was started – are called The Greatest Generation, for it was they that put liberty before their personal beliefs; before their own lives; and accepted the role into which fate had cast them - willing or not, they answered when called. Who will replace them, now that they are almost all gone?
Heroes are now being forged on the battlegrounds of the Middle East. Will we recognize them when we see them? Or will we bring our protests to their feet upon catching sight of their uniform? We all praise Seal Team 6; want to be like them! How many children dressed up as them for Halloween; how many men joined training camps that pushed members through a Navy SEAL workout? How many of us know the names of the individual members of Seal Team 6? How many of us know the names of the casualties who served with them? How many of us have thanked them for their service and sacrifice? How many of us have thanked any veteran of the Gulf Wars, for stepping up when asked?
All the flowery words and heartfelt sentiments that will be published today will mean nothing if we do not take the time to think of the history behind them; if we do not take the time to ask ourselves, “What if…?”
What if...
The United States did not enter World War II?
What if…?
The United States had not entered the Korean War (aka the Korean Conflict)?
What if…?
The United States had stayed out of Viet Nam?
What if…?
The United States had stayed out of the Middle East – both times?
None of these wars were fought on American soil; none of these wars affected the day-to-day lives of the average American – they were not our business, yet we made them our business and by doing so changed the lives of those whose day-to-day lives were affected by war and dictatorships; we changed the lives of Americans who bore the brunt of the sacrifices that war brings. Whether these lives were changed for better or worse, only history can judge; but still, I am left to question…
If not for American involvement…
Would Great Britain and France have fallen to the Third Reich?
Would Nazi Germany, empowered by victory over the European continent, dared to have attacked American soil?
Would the Jewish religion still be in wide practice today, or would it have fled underground out of fear of extermination?
These are questions I prefer not to think upon, and thanks to the sacrifices made by our Veterans they are questions I do not have to ask. I wish you all a blessed Memorial Day, offer a humble thank you to our veterans, and ask that you remember those who went before...because all gave some, and some gave all.
Snuggles,
Tazi
Ask Tazi! is ghostwritten by a human with a Bachelors of Arts in Communications. Tazi-Kat is not really a talking feline.
Today is Memorial Day, a day to remember those who fought and died for our freedoms, including the freedom to protest our own government. Whatever your political stripes are – Republican Red, Democrat Blue, or Third Party White – please take the time today to remember those who gave all on foreign soil to ensure the continued safety of those back home; for they are not here to remind you of their sacrifice.
We live in an era where war on foreign soil is questioned. Why are we there? What business do we have invading a sovereign country and establishing a new government, modeled after our own no less? Our military who risked all and even gave all may also have asked these same questions, but when duty called they answered; putting aside their personal feelings in favor of support of their country. How many of us today would be willing to submit to conscription as a requirement of citizenship?
There is a reason that the men and women of World War II – it was their forefathers for whom Memorial Day was started – are called The Greatest Generation, for it was they that put liberty before their personal beliefs; before their own lives; and accepted the role into which fate had cast them - willing or not, they answered when called. Who will replace them, now that they are almost all gone?
Heroes are now being forged on the battlegrounds of the Middle East. Will we recognize them when we see them? Or will we bring our protests to their feet upon catching sight of their uniform? We all praise Seal Team 6; want to be like them! How many children dressed up as them for Halloween; how many men joined training camps that pushed members through a Navy SEAL workout? How many of us know the names of the individual members of Seal Team 6? How many of us know the names of the casualties who served with them? How many of us have thanked them for their service and sacrifice? How many of us have thanked any veteran of the Gulf Wars, for stepping up when asked?
All the flowery words and heartfelt sentiments that will be published today will mean nothing if we do not take the time to think of the history behind them; if we do not take the time to ask ourselves, “What if…?”
What if...
The United States did not enter World War II?
What if…?
The United States had not entered the Korean War (aka the Korean Conflict)?
What if…?
The United States had stayed out of Viet Nam?
What if…?
The United States had stayed out of the Middle East – both times?
None of these wars were fought on American soil; none of these wars affected the day-to-day lives of the average American – they were not our business, yet we made them our business and by doing so changed the lives of those whose day-to-day lives were affected by war and dictatorships; we changed the lives of Americans who bore the brunt of the sacrifices that war brings. Whether these lives were changed for better or worse, only history can judge; but still, I am left to question…
If not for American involvement…
Would Great Britain and France have fallen to the Third Reich?
Would Nazi Germany, empowered by victory over the European continent, dared to have attacked American soil?
Would the Jewish religion still be in wide practice today, or would it have fled underground out of fear of extermination?
These are questions I prefer not to think upon, and thanks to the sacrifices made by our Veterans they are questions I do not have to ask. I wish you all a blessed Memorial Day, offer a humble thank you to our veterans, and ask that you remember those who went before...because all gave some, and some gave all.
Snuggles,
Tazi
Ask Tazi! is ghostwritten by a human with a Bachelors of Arts in Communications. Tazi-Kat is not really a talking feline.
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