Please Don't Thank a Vet.
You want to show respect and appreciation for veterans? Grab yourself a foot high American flag and take a drive to the nearest veteran's cemetery and plant it on the grave of someone who's family you've never met. If you're into such things, say a small prayer for their soul and try to imagine, if they fell in combat, what the final moments of their life must have been like and what they were thinking about as they took their final breath.
Not that we're not appreciative at being thanked, but it's misplaced. Most of us don't feel the need to be thanked and are actually made to feel quite uncomfortable by it. Most of us feel that the pleasure and the honor of having served is distinctly ours and we ask nothing in return other than the VA living up to the promise that America made, on your behalf, to take care of us upon our return. That's how you can show your appreciation to a veteran. Call your elected officials and tell them to do the right thing by us, irrespective of your political persuasion.
While it's nice that we get to party and celebrate our nation's freedoms in the company of family and friends, that's why god invented the 4th of July. That's the day our forefathers deemed the appropriate day to honor our nation's liberties, with parades, festivities, pomp, explosions and majesty. Memorial Day is about honoring the fallen, with a touch of solemnity and reverence. That shouldn't be too much to ask of any true, self-described "patriot."
Thanks for listening, whether you ultimately agree with me, or not - the fact of which I couldn't care less! If I get one person to reflect on my position, for a single moment, then - "mission accomplished."
Cheers. - Frank
P.S. I'm not sayin' we shouldn't be partyin'. Just that we should take a few minutes to quietly remember those that have paid the ultimate price, so that we may have the luxury of doing so. (Quietly steps off soapbox).
P.P.S. Oh - don't forget that approximately 22 veterans will commit suicide on Memorial Day and every other day this year. God bless, America.
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