Thursday, November 11, 2010

Just For Today

On this Veteran’s Day I sit and read the many tributes and thanks posted on various sites and blogs and I wonder how many of these people would be willing to answer the call that the young men and women who have served and are still serving did. Would we really be willing to sacrifice everything we had to preserve the freedoms that these people have helped guarantee for us? Could we leave our homes and our families to travel to distant lands to fight an enemy that is willing to go to any length to see us destroyed? Could you face that kind of hate head on with your head held high and your eyes straight ahead? I don’t know if I could have ever made that kind of sacrifice. I know that I would lay down my life for those I love, but would I have been willing to do it for someone I didn’t. I ask myself could I have gone into battle knowing that not every person was behind me and when I return be it in one piece or in a flag draped coffin that there would be those who still mocked my existence. There would be those who would shout epitaphs against those who had asked for my time, my effort and the skills that I possessed and could I have held my tongue when hearing such nonsense and be as gracious as I have heard one vet be when he said, “I fought for their right to be angry, and I fought for their right to speak their mind and I fought for their right to be stupid.” I know that I love my country with all that is in me and I well up at the mere mention of anything patriotic and the tears begin to flow when I hear our National Anthem or the heartfelt words of a tribute to those who have gone before us, but could I willingly give my all?


So as I ponder these questions today, I ask that you examine your heart along with me. For if it were not for these brave young men and women we would not be able to enjoy what most just think of as a day off from work because we would not have the freedom to think that without them being able to relinquish the life that we know to go into the fray for those who can’t. So don’t just thank a vet today, pray for those who are still serving, for those who will not come home again and hug those you can, look them in the eye and really say “Thank you.” For they have given what they can and some have given their all.

17 comments:

  1. I read this and I am challenged into doing just what you said. I look and see someone clicked "funny" as a reaction to this blog post. I pray that was done by accident. I see nothing funny about it. If it was clicked in a deliberate manner then I pray for you!! Please re-read the blog post and see if you can find yourself in it .. I did!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What is funny about this post is that the author talks about freedoms paid for with blood and sacrifice, one of which is freedom of speech. But if anyone posts anything she doesn't want to hear (even if it is the truth)she then blocks the posts. Even after she agrees to not censor.

    A tad hypocritical if you ask me.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I spoke tho the person who runs this blog and nothing has been deleted ... so you are obviously the one who checked off funny ... How sad is the world in which you live. An article to pay tribute to vets and you spin it around to be all about you!! Your ego is out of control. Why not have some respect to the vets who are on this blog reading it and say thank you to them .. oh but wait that would be unselfish and not about YOU .... Why not respons to the hard serious questions that were asked asked???? Guess what it will feed your ego even more because you can write about your favorite subject .. yep YOU!!!! Have some balls and even sign your name to the response!! Then you guessed it we will all know it is YOU !!!

    Tony

    ReplyDelete
  4. by the way .. if one of your posts were deleted ... now is the time for you to re-write it ... post it up again and see if it gets deleted .. come on lets see what it was ...

    tony

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have absolutely no idea what you are speaking of when you say I blocked a post. I have not blocked anything, nor have I censored something. Whomever you are need to come forward instead of hiding under the cloak of anonymity and tell me exactly what you are talking about. It takes a lot of hubris to accuse someone of something and then have no proof to back it up.

    Either way I apologize to the Veterans whom I was paying tribute to that someone had to come and make it all about them and not the sacrafices that you (service memembers collectively) have made. Although, as the vet in my post said, ".......and I fought for their right to be stupid."

    ReplyDelete
  6. Just for kicks I went back to the controls for the blog and did some hunting and found a post that was put into what was considered a "spam" folder because the person happened to pot the darn things three times. I honestly did not even know such a thing existed nor did I even know how a post would get there. I have not read all the way through it but it was a post about Kardon Park and the person was whining about my denigrating Ms. Feldman and some other nonsense (are we suprised?). It is quite sad that this person has to spread their "opinion" into a post about Veterans just so he/she feels he/she can have the last word. I will go back and see if I can get the silly thing put up if it will make you feel better and let the whole incident speak loud and clear for itself.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Actually, I have written absolutely nothing about me. I have not given my name since my posts are not about me. They are about issues...issues which you initiated.

    Even if I were to post a name, there would be no way to know if it is a real name. (right anonymous "Tony"?) The site specifically allows for anonymous posting. It is your blog, and therefore your rules. If you don't like that option, eliminate it.

    Either the posts were blocked, or the site was defective over an eight hour period, in which the post was attempted, yes, three times. If you did not block the post, my apologies.

    However this occurred after you asked me to "stop" posting rebuttals to your innacurate comments, so I naturally assumed it was your action.

    What exactly scares you about intelligent debate anyway? I'm curious. And please refrain from calling my comments "tirades". My posts are well thought out, clear, concise and pertinent, even if somewhat lengthy. Calling them "tirades" is an admission you can't keep up. I stand by my positions.

    Chris

    ReplyDelete
  8. You know it's really sad when someone apologizes, but a big fat BUT is attached to it. It's not about you? Really? And I quote "My posts are well thought out, clear, concise and pertinent, even if somewhat lengthy." Nothing scares me about intelligent debate, but what annoys me is when you need to bring a seperate issue over to a post about Veterans which has NOTHING to do with the park what so ever. You accuse me of all sorts of circular thinking and inaccurate assesments etc, but yet we are off to the races when ONE post of yours gets lost in the shuffle. I won't delete posts unless they contain language or even the hint of language that is inappropriate. So before you point fingers you might want to look and see that three are pointing back at you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. There is a time and place for it I agree .. Nothing wrong with debate and conversation. But NOT ON A TRIBUTE blog TO VETERANS FOR VETERANS DAY!!!!! Have some bit of decorum. Once again it IS about you .... You are typing about YOUR actions and YOUR beliefs when the blogger asked us to answer the hard questions she had posted. So yes it is all about YOU yet again!! Why not tell us about a relative that served ... or a battle fought for freedom. NO you submit a post 3 times about YOU in the totally wrong forum so much so it is considered SPAM. Again I have nothing against your debate but at least put it in the right place and not in a spot for tribute to vets!! Do you protest Kardon Park at a military funeral??? The sickest peole do not even know they are sick!!

    Tony

    ReplyDelete
  10. Well "Tony", go to the Veterans memorial wall in Kerr Park. There are four of my relatives there, one of whom, a first cousin, died on the battlefield in Holland during WWII. Another returned from Europe with a bullet hole right through the middle of him. Several others served in Vietnam. Then ask yourself why these people died and were wounded or traumatized. Did they die or get injured so that Americans could sit back and be abused by their government? Or did they die so that freedom to "speak one's mind", freedom to assemble, freedom to address their grievances in a court of law, freedom to stand up for what they believe in, could occur without intimidation, misrepresentation, and the complete disregard of elected officials for their constituents' concerns.

    Now go back and re-read my posts, which have nothing to do with me, but are about the concept of rule of law, and citizens' rights to stand up for their beliefs and interests, and to fight for them in court if necessary.

    And then re-read the commentary by the creator of this blog, in which she refers to citizen activists fighting to save a popular public park from being sold to a developer is described as a "commotion", a "stink", "selfishness", etc.

    Please do not lecture me about the democratic system, and the brave people who died protecting it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Elaine B, You said you would not censor my posts, then specifically asked me to "stop" posting, i.e. censor myself. Is this really your idea of what the Veterans fought for?

    C'mon now...

    Get your story straight.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Chris ...
    i asked that you show some respect and follow the context of the blog post ... you actually managed to do it for a minute there as you posted about the wonderful vets in your family then once again veered off course .. Whatever Dude you got an ego so large that you have to show it on this forum when and where you can .... use anything for YOUR platform and spin it around with YOUR words to end up talking about Kardon Park in a blog post about Vets!!! This is like reading 7 degrees of Kevin Bacon .. we start one place but always end back to where you want it .... YEP Kardon Park or whatever other place YOU want to spin it to match YOUR CONCERNS ... great you just disrespected a very thoughtful blog post about doing some soul searching and asking yourself some hard questions.... You never got the point because you can not lay down your own SELFISH motives to post about something else .... It is kind of hard to see others When your standing in your own way.

    I will state it again the sickest people do not even know they are SICK. Myself and your very relatives fought for your right to say what you want .... But only an act of GOD will change your heart ... to be respectful and sensitive to the topic at hand ... so I will continue to pray for you. I am now done responding to this as it is no longer worth my time.

    Tony

    ReplyDelete
  13. My how high handed are you going to go? I hate to tell you my dear, but I have had more relatives fighting for the freedom I hold dear than four people on a memorial. For instance my great uncles, one whom died in Nancy France in WWII when his ship was destroyed coming into harbor, or the other one who was wounded in Italy and told his men to leave him behind because his injuries were severe and he wanted to help get the last of his platoon out of there (4 men came home out of 47 that day). Or how about the great uncle who was poisoned three times by the Japanese because he was a fighter plane mechanic and if you take out the support troops the main line cannot function. Then there is my father-in-law who fought in Vietnam and his father who was severely wounded in WWII or my husband who fought in Desert Storm with the 101st Airborne, so don't talk to ME about sacrafice and then in the next sentence bring up the issue of Kardon Park. You are insensitive and sorely in need of schooling about decorum. Whether this blog has topical writings on other subjects or not, THIS particular writing was about VETERANS and your comments about Kardon Park just make it that much more glaring that your "cause" is not for the good of the people, but for you own agrandizement.

    I will leave you to make yourself look more insensitive since I am sure that you will have to have the last word...and that is ok because it will be your rear end hanging out there for all to see what kind of person you truly are.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Well now, Elaine, I could point out, respectfully, of course, that I did not mention the park. In fact, it was you who brought it up. I only mentioned it in my last thread as a response to your and "Tony"'s comments. So how precisely did I bring it up? [go back and check, please]

    I was merely pointing out in my comment on this thread that you really do not believe in the concept behind the veteran's quote in your entry about fighting for "their right to speak their minds". Otherwise you would not have asked me to "stop" posting my commentary to your commentary. It seems quite contradictory and hypocritical to me.

    After that comment, my post which had been published, disappeared from your blog, and subsequent attempts to post it were denied. You have acknowledged that, blaming the "spam" filter. It is unclear how that would happen since it was not emailed, and did appear on the blog page the first time around. But no matter, it was a mix-up, which obviously I (and if you say so, you)had no control over.

    So, to your credit you have posted my comment in the appropriate thread.

    Your posts, however remain illogical, irrational, and disjointed, as well as ill-informed, and frankly, a bit scary. On top of it you talk about this blog as a way to "stay sane".

    I would not expect anyone to post their real name.

    Chris.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Umm, Elaine, dear, could you check the "spam" folder again? My post seems to have disappeared again.

    ReplyDelete
  16. First of all there are two blogs if you cared to read correctly this one and my own specific personal one. Learn to read before denigrating anyone.

    ReplyDelete