In Memorium

For as many issues that divide us as a nation, it is our military that often unites us. Generations of men and women dedicated to serve a country and a people that, at times, have protested against the very institution that sustains the military. Ironic I suppose and very sad. Sad when we forget how significant and crucial the armed forces and each individual that makes up these proud and strong and indispensible units are to each of us. Today, when we put out our American flags and we visit cemetaries and the graves of those who we've known and lost; when we attend ceremonies for the heroes of the past and present, when we visit the names and the biograpies of all of the soldiers who so willingly gave their lives for the very freedom that we enjoy today, we must pause and remember them and what their lives have meant.

To fight for something that you believe in, whether that be behind a computer screen or in an office building or on the battlefield of a country that doesn't want you there is a sacrifice in and of itself. But to do so voluntarily and to wake up each morning knowing that you have a job to do that serves something bigger than yourself and that millions of people are counting on you to perform, whether you want to that day or not, well, the word hero doesn't seem to cover it. They deserve our respect. They deserve our gratitude. And they deserve it every day, not just today.

I spend today thinking about all of the soldiers and even moreso, about all of the parents who have a son or daughter or children, out there, somewhere, training, defending, waiting, dying. Tonight I will say a prayer for all of those families who grieve someone who they've lost in a War or in a scenario that was unexpected, like 9/11. Tonight when I look at my own three sons, sleeping safe in their beds, I will remind myself that one day, I might be one of those parents and so I send them my love and my respect and my hope that their pain lessens just a bit each day.

No matter your dissatisfaction with our government or our president or the manner in which issues are being handled or not being handled at the moment; today is about them, each one of them, in their uniforms, wearing their dog tags, standing up for our rights. And thank God that they do. Thank God. To all the servicemen and women who've given their lives so that I can sit here and type this, thank you. To all of the parents of those soldiers, may you have some peace knowing that we are grateful and to all of the soliders out there today, standing on a line, waiting for a call, waiting to be shipped out, wanting to come home, you have my profound respect and gratitude and I pray that each of you lives and dies with the dignity that you so rightfully deserve. God Bless the military...