11-11-11

For those of you who gave of your life to your country let me be the first to say, THANK YOU. I worked for a local hospital for over 25 years. The only time I received thanks for serving my country was after complaining for 3 years straight that the only veterans on the payroll in my department were two of us who were scheduled every year to be working Memorial Day and Veteran's Day. The third year I wrote the head honcho a letter about this. That was the year I, and my fellow veteran, were offered thanks, grudgingly.
It's a pet peave of mine, and most veterans, that the days set to commemorate veterans pass without much thought to men and women who have spent time in uniform. Those men and women deserve the nation's thanks. They heeded the call, whether by draft or by volunteering. It's a call all citizens should feel a duty to be shared.
I'm in favor of the draft if it could be set up for those called to be used where needed. Not everyone would have to be a part of a shooting war. Some could serve in the cities where a helping hand is needed.
From the age of 18 to 26 the young could use a hand in their struggle to know themselves and what they want to do with their lives. A stint of 2 years during this time in every person's life would provide some well needed discipline. To focus that raw energy into a channel of action would prove invaluable. I've seen the kids of today floundering in their lives. The fact that they have been born in the USA is not appreciated. A piece of their lives in the service of this great country could give them a chance to feel that they have made a contribution of import. Two years, minimum, to strengthen this country in arms and in service.
We need a unifying faction. Our country has zipped off in all directions. We were once the melting pot. Now we are petty little groups who complain about our rights being violated. E pluribus unum has very little meaning these days. When I was young people flocked to this country legally and became citizens as quickly as possible to call themselves Americans. Now they sneak in illegally to chant against unfareness. Every ethnic group has begun to extoll its importance over simply joining the population of this country as a unified nation.
I guess the schools have stopped teaching civics. I'm sure the history books do not fill the students heads with stories of the heroes who founded this country. It's evident since all those stories are debunked and the heroes shown to be men and women with feet of clay just like any real person. They made mistakes but they built a strong nation that has lasted for over 200 years.
We need to reunify our country. For me one way to do that is to ask each citizen to offer up at least 2 years of his/her life to the service, in one way or another, of our nation. To belong to a group of individuals who were united for a specific time as true citizens in service to one nation under God with liberty and justice to all. We would then give genuine thanks to our veterans, a citizenry of veterans who have shared that service.