It’s Veteran’s
Day and I’ve been pondering. There’s a journey that lies behind every veteran we
meet. They’ve done something. They’ve been somewhere beyond themselves. At some
point in their lives, they stepped forward to serve and we rightly honor them.
It’s Veteran’s
Day and I’m glad it comes after
the harrowing race for power we’ve just been through. It wasn’t the bad toupees
and pantsuits that got to me. It was the years of politicians and pundits and radio
entertainers telling people to embrace their anger and fear, telling them that anger
and fear would give them strength. It’s the months of watching candidates expertly
tap into that same toxic well, leaving us with a country on the edge and a populace
that is both angry and fearful.
We have children chanting in school about building walls. Signs taped over water fountains, one labeled “Whites
only.” The twin parasites of anger and fear
consume their hosts and spill into the streets, and this country that our veterans
have sought to protect against external threat is in turmoil from the inside out.
My father was a
veteran. He was a man of service. After he
took off his last uniform, he continued serving
until his last breath. Thinking of Dad, and
Veteran’s Day, and the pain this country is in, I'm thinking there's something we can all do.
Serve.
Let’s each find ways
to go beyond ourselves. Let’s stop posting angry or fearful messages about
those who are angry and fearful and instead reach out to them with peace, even if we have to do it
five or ten or a thousand times.
Let’s take down
the signs over water fountains, hug an immigrant and, if we must, teach children
songs about purple dinosaurs again. Let’s honor our men and women in uniform by
taking our own journey of service.
To those of
you who now or once wore the uniform, I wish you a Happy Veteran’s Day.
And to all of
you - thank you for serving.
