Because soldiers in US wars set aside time in their lives to fight for freedom and suffered, I have a lot of freedoms. They may have been permanently injured physically or psychologically. They may have lost the loyalty of a lover at home, or the chance at a college scholarship, or high school graduation. US soldiers are laying in unmarked graves on foreign soil right now, so that I could enjoy the comforts I have right now. Missing soldiers are places where truly only God knows where they are, because that soldier read their history books and decided having a free republic was worth the sacrifice.
I am so ever thankful, my simple words on a website cannot express.
Here are the things I have because a soldier sacrificed:
As an American woman, I own a business, make profit, and can live independently. In a lot of other countries, I would be a criminal.
I have adopted children from a different race. In the United States only in the last few hundred years, those same children were considered property, not family members. Thank you to our soldiers.
I own property. One of the biggest signals of a free society, and one of many reasons a rag tag bunch of people hopped on a boat and came to America, only to find themselves fighting the best army in the world to keep that right during the Revolution.....was property ownership. Own it, and be proud, and don't ever let it go. Ever. Blood was shed on that soil for the right to own it.
I have the right to bear arms. Another signal of a free country, the right of the citizenry to defend themselves not only from foreign enemies, but those from within. Remember, possession is 90% of the law. Once you let that right go, you may never get it back. Again, thousands of soldiers took up arms, defended that right, and died so you could have that right. I am thankful.
I have the right to walk our streets and show my face. In other countries where our soldiers are fighting right now, women are punished harshly for that. Just yesterday a woman and her daughter were stoned to death in the Middle East for such a silly offense. To my military, I am thankful.
I have the right to earn a paycheck, and do whatever the heck I want to with it.
I have the right to say what I want to say. I understand this is a privilege and with it comes responsibility. I won't walk down the street yelling things that push people's buttons and inflame them like what I am seeing in the news these days. God also has given me the marching orders to consider my words wisely and speak with discernment. However, I can speak those words without suffering any kind of reprisals from my government, and I thank our soldiers for that right.
I am thankful that our military is the best of the best. I have been unique places and seen unique things in my life that only the daughter of a military man could see. I realize as a grown woman now, those things I saw as a child.....all children should see. There is a missing link in our culture today. I appreciate, love and honor our military and country because I saw things firsthand and understood the cost of freedom from when I was a toddler. Everyone needs that missing link. Our country's military would be an even better military if everyone saw the things I saw. Our government would be a better government if they saw the things I saw.
But they didn't. I did. I know all of our soldiers past, present and future wish we had. I appreciate you I hurt for you and your lifetime of hurts you have ahead of you because of your service. In this woman's heart and mind, I appreciate all you have done.
Thank you. Enjoy your Veterans Day. You have earned it.
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