When is the right time to honor our veterans? Always. Our veterans have risked their lives, fighting for us, fighting for our great country, fighting for our freedom. Why would they risk their live, fighting? Do they fight for honor? Do they fight for some sort of reward? No, they fight for our freedom, they fight for our safety, they fight for our lives, but at what cost?
Thousands of American soldiers have died in war, but by sacrificing themselves, millions of American civilians have lived, yet what do we civilians think about these American heroes? Nothing. We pay no attention to those who have saved our lives, and now those people who have saved our lives need us to save theirs.
Hundreds of the veterans who come home from war are relieved that now they can relax, only to find that there is no job awaiting them, there is no house awaiting them, there is no life awaiting them. 40% of all the homeless population are veterans from wars; that's almost half of the homeless population. These heroes have risked their lives-indisputably one of the most brave and courageous thing to do, and they do this to save our lives-and all they get in return, is a little bit of respect on one day of the year, and then they have to start their lives over.
Everyone starts their life in a hole, metaphorically, but there is a ladder leading out of the hole, so when you make it out of the hole, you can choose what you want to do. These great brave people chose to protect our country, and when they come back from war, they find themselves back at the bottom of the hole again, only this time, there is no ladder leading out. We can build them a ladder though, for we are at the top of the hole, and at the top of the hole there is material to make a ladder. It will not be easy, building this ladder, but veterans across the world deserve ladders much more than the rest of us.
They have risked their lives, only to save ours, and we do almost nothing to commemorate them. They have one day, even though for years, every day could be their last. They deserve every day of the calendar. They’ve earned the right to be honored every day, so we should present them with that right.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
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I especially like the metaphor of the hole we all climb out of in life, and how veterans have to climb out again, and with our help, it can be done. Very nice.
ReplyDeleteAs I've told you, you're going to win.
ReplyDeleteThis essay is cool beans. I like your paragraph about building the ladder out of the hole, I never would have thought of something like that.
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