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Friends
and family,
It's
Veteran's Day tomorrow. Back
in what seems like another era,
pre 9 -11, back when I was teaching
American Government at Loveland
High School, one of the most
special events
of my school year was taking
a bus load of seniors to Washington
DC over Veteran's Day. It seemed
to me that November 11 provided
a special context for a special
journey. We of course went to
many of the sites in DC - the
Archives and Capitol and Supreme
Court, monuments and memorials
to Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt,
and my favorite - Arlington
Cemetery.
But for me the
best part of that entire trip
was a talk I gave as we were
heading home out of Washington
after our final sightseeing
visit - to the Marine Corps
Memorial. It gave me a chance
to try and pull the many experiences
of the trip together for my
kids. I talked about how the
many memorials and fancy buildings
are more than just monuments
to what was - they are a question
to us as to what will be. Will
we squander our freedom, or
use it to illuminate? How very
precious our America is - and
how important it is for all
of us to do what we can to live
up to the demands of what has
been bequeathed to us by our
forefathers, to accept the challenges
and the opportunity of liberty
and self government.
I never made
it all the way through that
talk without having to take
a moment to get myself together,
thinking about the price that
so many have paid to give me
so much, and wondering if I
would be up to the task myself.
The attacks on 9 -11 thrust
that task on all of us. We are
in difficult times today, but
then we have been so many times
in our past. There is a very
real war in our world today,
and it's not just in Iraq and
Afghanistan - it is rightly
called the global war on terror.
And on this
November 11, the question I
asked my kids on the bus in
past Novembers is still there
- to each of us in our world;
are we doing what we can to
protect the principles which
define America and which previous
generations have passed on to
us? Every one of us is called
to stand up for what we believe
in and do what we can to preserve
or advance freedom here and
around our world. I know you
can't see who all gets this
e-mail, or would even know who
half the people are, but trust
me when I tell you that there
are some American heroes on
it. Many never wore a uniform,
but some did - in World War
II, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian
Gulf, or stood vigilant and
ready in the years between.
"Not for fame or reward
, not for place or rank, not
lured by ambition or goaded
by necessity; but in simple
obedience to duty as they understood
it ... "
Today, this
is for you. If you are a Veteran,
from me to you - thank you for
all you did when it was your
turn, and I want you to know
I'm doing the best I know how
while it's my turn. I owe that
to you and every other American
who ever wore the uniform to
defend this great and good country
of ours. You are my heroes who
I take inspiration from every
day. And right up there with
you are your family members
who know too well what sacrifice
must be made for what you did.
If you're not a veteran, find
the ones you know and tell them
thanks.
You have an
incredible thing in America
called freedom, which so many
have done so much through history
to win, expand and protect.
Millions of Americans from all
walks of life can stake a claim
to the hard work that went into
that, and that continues today
- and our veterans certainly
can stand up and be counted
for having done their part.
Let's all do ours.
All my best,
Dave
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