on the 12th

And as is the pleasure of Americans, we celebrate a community of people, thanking them for their service, remembering them for the sacrifices they made…but then just as sadly, typical for most Americans, we just stop at recalling the history and go no further. Our Vets are honored today for the lives lost, the bodies maimed, the minds confused in disarray, and the emotions shared and shattered. We list the wars fought with courage, we salute the men and women who said country first, we tip our hats, place a hand at our hearts for comrades lost and try to recognize the unimaginable actions taken to secure, life, liberty and the pursuit if happiness.

Veterans Day arrives with laying of wreaths, parades, dusting off of old pictures of our family and friends in uniform, and when the calendar turns to the 12th of November all of the genuine thought and praise is tucked neatly away. We remember with great energy but permit the memories to be waylaid, detoured or abandoned forgetting much too often the here and now. We are thankful, grateful and humbled…but then what?

Two current wars, each providing this nation with more Vets. The same government which told us that weapons of mass destruction were evident, that democracy much flourish even in the Middle East, that terrorism is the enemy, refuses to provide food stamps, health care, emotional support and jobs when the soldier returns as a Vet. The same government whose debate on the war was weak and empty now seems locked in a non winnable debate with the loser being the Vet coming home to emptier promises and provisions. The same government at the ready to supposedly fight for freedoms in other countries, restricts the basic freedoms for its returning Vets. The same nation will close its banks, schools and government offices but does little else for the health and welfare of its Vets.

It is the pleasure of Americans to honor its heroes. We are a nation of great giving; even in the act of war the giving one’s of life. We provide cemeteries, monuments, holidays for our Vets; but more then that seems difficult, annoying. It is Veterans Day, a day we are reminded to stop and take notice of the American citizen who stepped forward to keep democracy alive. But why is it so difficult for our Troops to live a fuller life once they return home and become a Vet?