Sorry to think that for the majority of our last generation, the sacrifices of our past generations along with those of our present, will mean nothing.
Mark, your piece is masterful propaganda. It is no wonder we fall for it generation upon generation. Did I fight for you? Did my father fight for me? Or did we all fight for multi-national corporations which, like IBM, Ford and J P Morgan, have the outcome rigged so they'd win no matter what the peace treaties said. "War is a racket," said Major General Smedley Butler (USMC - twice awarded the Medal of Honor). "Only a few know what it is really about. It is for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the very many." (Paraphrased from his famous 1936 speech)- I think we should honor each others' service only with the full realization of our culpability and 'tribal' affiliations. It is greed, not glory; grief, not glamour; gullibility, not God that we served. And so I can render this salute to all of us, friend and foe alike, but not in triumph or joy or even appreciation ... war is a failure of negotiation, civility, society ... civilization. What we stand for most is failure ... and its perpetuation down the millenniums. (hand salute)
I agree with you on this one, Mark. Let some SOB disrupt or deface any part of a military funeral that I am part of (alive), and they will find there's a whole lot of fight left in me.
I agree that everyone should learn history so they don't repeat it. However, glorifying the military as being "patriotic" and "in the name of God" is wrong because there is nothing glorious about war. Some wars, like World War II are necessary to engage. Others, in fact every war that the United States has entered since World War II were the result of the huge military industrial complex built up from World War II that the generals wanted to exercise and the unnatural fear of "the other" that we didn't understand. For example, if we don't understand the Jewish religion or the Jewish culture, then we can think of them as "the enemy."
We must remember that in almost every war, every combatant had "God on their side." Would God want all those people, military and civilian, to die for him/her? I doubt it.
Sad indeed. Mark. They say you can't take it with you when you go and I'd much rather leave it behind for the next generation. But it's beginning to look like the freedom so many had fought and died for will be going with us this time around. Let's hope and pray our kids and grand kids are wise enough to seize the gift and defend while they still can.
We must remember that in almost every war, every combatant had "God on their side." Would God want all those people, military and civilian, to die for him/her? I doubt it.
Ron