EPIPHANY OF THE DAY

 PATRIOTISM

The Vietnam War generation doesn’t receive the approval that the WWII Generation did. No wonder. One lost. The other won. The Korean War generation doesn’t receive much attention at all. No one can figure out exactly what the result was. No one even knows what the current generation is doing. There aren't enough of them to matter.

The Vietnam vets have a special place in my heart though, for one obvious reason. Beyond that, there is a special place in glory for those who were faced with a situation where the justification for the war was fabricated and false, the sentiment for it was mixed, opposition to it was violent, and the rich kids seemed to avoid it if they wished. What is special about a group of young men on the verge of their adult life facing the forced encounter with such a war?

Answer: They went anyway.

Yes they went. Some because they had to. Some because they wanted to. Some, myself included, because they wouldn’t risk telling their mothers they were cowards. One supporting layer floated them all. Deep down inside, they felt America was worth sacrificing two or more years of their life for, and maybe even itself.

America was that important. They were willing to sacrifice it all for her.

Now we have politicians that don’t seem to feel that way. Either their cult, their greed, their egos, or their simple mendacity govern their actions. If they loved America as much as we did, they would step aside and let young people with fresh and wholesome ideas run for office.

On some days, reading the news, I’m not sure that our present people deserve the America for which young men once risked it all.