Agree or Disagree With War, Our Troops are Heroes--Remember That!

One of our “boys” from our church is over in Iraq. He sent me what I am going to read not knowing from whom it came but *[he said it] was from someone in the military who is a bit fed up with the criticisms of those who put on the uniform as well as criticizing the measures of security which some react to with disdain. Here it is.

*Be sure you read the comments at the bottom for an explanation of where the quote came from--kind of funny and a warning again about "stuff on the internet..."

“We live in a world that has fences, and those fences have to be guarded by security forces troops. Whose gonna do it? You, Johnny Public? We have more responsibility here than you could possibly fathom. You weep during traffic stops, and you curse having to show IDs. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what we know; that security requirements, while tragic, probably save lives. And that our existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. We know, deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want us on the fence line of democracy; you need us on that fence line. We use words like honor, code, and loyalty. We use these words to describe the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punch line. We have neither the time nor the inclination to explain ourselves to people who rise and sleep under the blanket of the very freedom we provide, then question the manner in which we provide it. We’d prefer you said thank you, and went on your way, otherwise, we suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand to post. Either way, I don't give a hoot what you think you are entitled to!” ~Unknown

If you are one of those who fall into the category of naively believing that peace and safety can always be accomplished through mutual understanding and dialogue, I have one great request.

On this Memorial Day weekend, do all of us Vets and all of our military men and women, and especially those who have fallen in battle of the decades a huge favor. Keep your sentiments of disgust to yourself just for this weekend; not because you agree with a word I am saying, but because you have the right to speak or not because of the very ones you despise. It is the least you can do.

Addendum—This past Sunday, May 21, we had one of our young men in attendance two months out of Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital. His right hand was blown off by an IED along with numerous other problems. As he stood before me, I thanked him for his service on my behalf. I could tell he was uncomfortable with my praises. All he said to me was, “I’d do it again.”

Enough said.