Ok then, I'll give my Memorial Day take.
Posted: Mon May 29, 2006 5:50 pm
As the American media would have it, this weekend's TV programming has been full of "war" themed broadcasts, from live commentary on various Memorial Day rememberance ceremonies, to old WWII classics on AMC, to the obligatory airing of Saving Private Ryan (with limited commercial interuptions).
One show, however, has left me contemplating who am I to pass judgement on the goings on over in Iraq. The show is Combat Diary: The Marines of Lima Company, and I just finished watching it. The show didn't change my opinion of how I feel about our service men and women being over in Iraq....I wish they were all back home....or if anything, it made that feeling stronger. However, it made me pause to stop and consider how fortunate I am, and everyone of us are, to have men like those of Lima Company, putting their necks on the line for us, whether they like it or not, whether they believe in the cause or not. They do so because our country asks them to do so. They do so without reluctance and they do so with more regard for their fellow soldiers' lives than their own.
Every day I get up and I complain about the traffic on the way to work, or about having to even go to work. I get pissed about bills I have to pay. I get bent when people ask last minute favors which constitute changing my plans. The list of trivial BS that gets on my nerves goes on and on. I consider these things to be important enough to allow myself to be affected by them.
Then I watch a show like Comabt Diaries. Suddenly I get an appreciation for what's positive and important in my life. I'm lucky I don't have to worry about mines on the freeway I'm driving when I go to work. I'm lucky that the biggest danger of my work is missing a delivery to a customer, or not getting their problem solved right away. I'm lucky that my job offers me the opportunity to pay bills, and I'm damn lucky that I have family or friends who depend on me or ask of me and my time. Because the truth is, the fallen soldiers of Lima Company, and all of the fallen soldiers before and after them, they don't often have those fortunes. They never know if that trip down a road that's been proofed will be their last trip. They never know for sure what lies behind that door they are about to kick in. They never know if they'll make it back to base to spend their soldeir's salary on some comforts that hopefully can make the job they do easier to cope with. Sure they are soldiers, and sure they are trained to think and act differently than the majority of us, but you also realize they are husbands, fathers, brothers.....family members who may never see their loved ones again, or in some cases may never see loved ones they never got a chance to meet.
Suddenly, my daily nuisances become something I feel fortunate to deal with. I get to see my kids. I get to watch them and my brother's kids grow up (God willing). I get to visit my Mom and my Dad. I get to talk to my friends. I get alot of things each and every day that a soldier thousands of miles away is fighting for me to have, even if it means he/she won't. Suddenly, I feel both fortunate and selfish at the same time.
So instead of questioning the wrong or right of the war, instead of questioning the wrong or right of why I am blessed with the things I am and have, and why others can't have the same, even if they are more deserving, I will instead make a conscious effort to have a better appreciation not only for my daily "pains in the ass", but moreso for the men and women that allow me to have that opportunity, knowing that many of them won't get the same.
Major, major props to the fallen men of Lima Company, and to every other man or woman who has worn the uniform of our US Armed Forces. I won't celebrate Memorial Day with a barbecue, or a trip to the beach, or any of the other traditions that have become what is Memorial Day in our nation. Instead, I celebrate with tears for those who've given their lives for me and my family, even if it means their own family won't be able to see them or be with them, and a prayer for those still marching on that they come home soon and safely.
Happy Memorial Day to America
One show, however, has left me contemplating who am I to pass judgement on the goings on over in Iraq. The show is Combat Diary: The Marines of Lima Company, and I just finished watching it. The show didn't change my opinion of how I feel about our service men and women being over in Iraq....I wish they were all back home....or if anything, it made that feeling stronger. However, it made me pause to stop and consider how fortunate I am, and everyone of us are, to have men like those of Lima Company, putting their necks on the line for us, whether they like it or not, whether they believe in the cause or not. They do so because our country asks them to do so. They do so without reluctance and they do so with more regard for their fellow soldiers' lives than their own.
Every day I get up and I complain about the traffic on the way to work, or about having to even go to work. I get pissed about bills I have to pay. I get bent when people ask last minute favors which constitute changing my plans. The list of trivial BS that gets on my nerves goes on and on. I consider these things to be important enough to allow myself to be affected by them.
Then I watch a show like Comabt Diaries. Suddenly I get an appreciation for what's positive and important in my life. I'm lucky I don't have to worry about mines on the freeway I'm driving when I go to work. I'm lucky that the biggest danger of my work is missing a delivery to a customer, or not getting their problem solved right away. I'm lucky that my job offers me the opportunity to pay bills, and I'm damn lucky that I have family or friends who depend on me or ask of me and my time. Because the truth is, the fallen soldiers of Lima Company, and all of the fallen soldiers before and after them, they don't often have those fortunes. They never know if that trip down a road that's been proofed will be their last trip. They never know for sure what lies behind that door they are about to kick in. They never know if they'll make it back to base to spend their soldeir's salary on some comforts that hopefully can make the job they do easier to cope with. Sure they are soldiers, and sure they are trained to think and act differently than the majority of us, but you also realize they are husbands, fathers, brothers.....family members who may never see their loved ones again, or in some cases may never see loved ones they never got a chance to meet.
Suddenly, my daily nuisances become something I feel fortunate to deal with. I get to see my kids. I get to watch them and my brother's kids grow up (God willing). I get to visit my Mom and my Dad. I get to talk to my friends. I get alot of things each and every day that a soldier thousands of miles away is fighting for me to have, even if it means he/she won't. Suddenly, I feel both fortunate and selfish at the same time.
So instead of questioning the wrong or right of the war, instead of questioning the wrong or right of why I am blessed with the things I am and have, and why others can't have the same, even if they are more deserving, I will instead make a conscious effort to have a better appreciation not only for my daily "pains in the ass", but moreso for the men and women that allow me to have that opportunity, knowing that many of them won't get the same.
Major, major props to the fallen men of Lima Company, and to every other man or woman who has worn the uniform of our US Armed Forces. I won't celebrate Memorial Day with a barbecue, or a trip to the beach, or any of the other traditions that have become what is Memorial Day in our nation. Instead, I celebrate with tears for those who've given their lives for me and my family, even if it means their own family won't be able to see them or be with them, and a prayer for those still marching on that they come home soon and safely.
Happy Memorial Day to America