November 11, 2020

 November 11, 2020

Armistice Day

Remembrance Day

Veterans Day

Veterans Day - http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetdayhistory.asp

From Robert Laurence Binyon's "For the Fallen" - the "Ode to Remembrance"...

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

Full poem (September, 1914) - http://www.greatwar.co.uk/poems/laurence-binyon-for-the-fallen.htm

From the Kohima Monument in Myanmar (ex-Burma) - attributed to John Maxwell Edmonds;

When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say,
For Their Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today

"In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae (May, 1915) - http://www.greatwar.co.uk/poems/john-mccrae-in-flanders-fields.htm

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First a question - Who serves the United States more - the soldier who shoulders their pack, boards the plane off to who knows where or the elected official who grabs their briefcase (or laptop) and boards the plane back home for a political event?

In this country (The United States) there is a lot of discussion of what we are and who we are.

The bad news - most of what the United States is now came from European settlement and development of North America.  This includes conquering Indian  (indigenous peoples) nations, slavery, voiding existing property ownership (mostly in the Southwest) and military expansion (the War with Mexico, the various Indian wars, the war with Spain) and use (overuse?) of natural resources.

The good news - All in all the United States we have now is likely the best nation to live in - it is not perfect, but you don't see a lot of people leaving for other nations (rather the reverse!).

One constant factor in the United States is the service of our military.  They have steadfastly served  our elected government - often bearing the burden of bad (or misguided) foreign policy, budget cuts, extended service and being asked to bail out politicians who spoke first without evaluating the impact of their statements.

Honor our military - the are not politicians, they are not all citizens but they had consistently given their all for our nation. 

Embrace the United States - accept that we are not perfect and much of what we are now came at the cost of others - without their consent.  But understand that this process of development provided the infrastructure, academic, artistic, educational opportunities we have now. 

The next four years will see a lot of issues - social, financial (someone has to pay the bills), medical, political and international.

There are rarely one single "right" response to these issues.

Pay attention to what is happening in your state, city, county and Washington.  Be an informed citizen voter.

And don't try to balance the budget on the backs of our military veterans and our current military.

Jim Mulchay

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