Veteran's Day

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Some things are worth dying for. Some things are not. Some things are worth killing other human beings, some things cannot ever be worth that. Maybe it's a subjective matter, deciding what a life is worth, and what is worth a life. World War 1 was supposed to be the War to End All Wars. It didn't work out that way.

When the Armistice agreement between the Allied forces and the German Army was signed at 5 am on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, in a boxcar in the middle of a French forest, some unremembered official thought it would be a good idea to wait until eleven am for the agreement to take effect. He thought 11-11-11 had an esthetic ring to it, something for the history books. As a result, during those six hours, another 2,738 men died. For nothing. 320 of those were American soldiers. The carnage went on until the final minute. For nothing.

Today there are still "wars, and rumors of wars." Young men and women are still dying in foreign countries for whatever reasons. Only they and their families can decide if the reasons are worth their lives. I abhor what is happening now in the Middle East. People on both sides are dying for my freedom to drive an SUV. (I realize this is a simplistic view of a complex ideal). Nevertheless.

I salute the men and women who have chosen to serve their country, to interrupt their lives and make sacrifices for their ideals, whatever their reasons. Would to God this would be the War to End All Wars.

These are the warriors in my life: my uncle, who served in Iran during WWII, my husband, who served in the Navy, on Guam; my brother, who served in the Army, in Germany and France; and my cousin, who served in Korea. God bless, guys!


(PS I do not own an SUV. I drive a Hyundai.)

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