A POEM FOR VETERAN'S DAY

It is the veteran, not the preacher,
who has given you freedom of religion.

It is the veteran, not the reporter,
who has given you freedom of the press.

It is the veteran, not the poet,
who has given you freedom of speech.

It is the veteran, not the liberal protesters,
who has given you freedom to assemble.

It is the veteran, not the lawyer,
who has given you the right to a fair trial.

It is the veteran, not the politician,
who has given you the right to vote.

It is the veteran, who salutes the Flag,
and who serves under the Flag.

The PA VFW shares this poem to recognize Veteran’s Day and give citizens an accurate measure of veterans’ contributions to America. It is a part of a beautiful message written by Benjamin Mastridge, that can be read in its entirety, here. Mr. Mastridge ends with a plea that we, "Give them all a heartfelt, ”Thanks for my freedom.”"

I submit that we go further.

I suggest we remove our support from politicians who set the needs of Veterans against the needs of those currently serving. 

I suggest we remove our support from those who would use the needs of military families as political bargaining chips.

I suggest we remove our support from those who repeatedly turn their backs on Veterans in desperate need of good medical care.

Our veterans and serving military deserve our support more than one day a year, and that support needs to go deeper than a bumper sticker on our gas guzzling SUV.  

Some pertinant links: here. here. here. here. here. here. here. & here.