Self-sacrifice in war is no more noble than self-sacrifice in peace. When a soldier dies in combat we honor that person for giving his or her only life so that others may live. It may be so that other soldiers can live or it may be in defense of one’s country. We honor those who give their lives in the horror of murder that is War.
Not all of us will wear the uniform and answer the call to fight for our country. I did and I live on while some that I know do so, no longer.
Duty. Honor. Sacrifice. Country. Patriotism.
These words are not the province and reward of only soldiers. They are the birthright and cornerstone of citizenship.
(Cross-posted at The National Gadfly.)
Callous men (and I mean men) shirk the opportunity to fight in a war but call for the death of others – wave about the flag and religion to urge other sons and daughters into the slaughter of war. These same men own companies that make enormous fortunes from the manufacturing of weapons and the harvest of plunder from vanquished lands. These men do not sacrifice their children’s education or lives or wealth by sending them to die in foreign lands. These men do not sacrifice their children’s health care nor their own.
Duty. Honor. Sacrifice. Country. Patriotism.
Not everyone will choose the way of war and not everyone will be asked to. Some of us will answer the call to public service.
The great majority of us will neither wear a uniform nor work in any government position. Most of us will live, breathe and die in pursuit of our own aims throughout our education, employment and families. We will enjoy our lives in the benefits of citizenship, reaping the rewards of other people – most of whom we will never meet.
We will drive on roads built by people we never met. The clothes on our back, made by unseen hands. We use electricity for devices and we will never see where either one of them came from or how they are produced.
There are other unseen factors in our contact with each other that contribute to our lives as well. The unexpected interaction with a stranger can alter our lives. It cold be responsible for us missing our train home and five minutes later, we meet the person we eventually marry.
Every day of our lives, in every minute – we operate in a world created by the whole of our society. All the good and all the bad. We trust that the things we need will be there. We take it for granted. All we need to do is earn our money to buy these things.
We need education to earn money. Science, fact, reason, language and the ability to adapt to change. These are the tools that determine whether or not we feed ourselves and how much money we make.
We need our health to be alive to learn and then employ that knowledge for our own personal gain and for our efforts to become part of the pool of unnamed accomplishments that others will draw from to shape their lives as we do with roads, clothes, electricity, etc.
The great many of us that do not pick up a gun and leap into the murder of War will not be exempt from Duty, Honor, Sacrifice & Patriotism. Our sacrifice comes in the deliberate contributions we make to each other – our shared health and education.
Duty. Honor. Sacrifice. Country. Patriotism.
For most of us, that means paying taxes. It means that we give some of our wealth to the rest of our society so that we all may benefit. Most of us do not need to dive upon a grenade in our last breath, to give our society a chance to continue on.
I will not dishonor the mortal sacrifice of those that died so that I may be born, live and prosper by refusing to make my own sacrifices of time, effort and treasure. Will you?
No society of inequality will last. None ever has. The great experiment and testament of The United States of America is the proof that exists in our shared prosperity.
Are we a minority of men hoarding the wealth of our nation in a system of poor health, insufficient education, inciting violence against each other and other countries? Or are we a society of people who all live out the meaning of Duty, Honor, Sacrifice, Country & Patriotism?
6 comments