Like a great many of you out there, I have not had to experience the hardships of war firsthand. It remains a sight to see from a distance, on the television or in movies. Terrifying and deadly but always from afar. From this remote view it becomes an easy thing to simply shrug it off after a while and turn back to our own personal endeavors, thinking that the spectre of war won’t affect us and can remain a distant afterthought.
But it doesn’t take much to realize how close war has been to each of us and our families for generations. I know for me,while doing some genealogy, I found war after war through the ages where relatives served, some dying and some being wounded. Young and not so young men who rallied to the call and paid some sort of price for their efforts. My genealogy is unremarkable in that aspect as the same could certainly be said for almost all of families.
There is a lot to hate about war. The death, devastation and destruction is enough, let alone the financial costs that sap the economies of the world. But while war is, and should remain, a thing to be despised, we owe a huge sense of gratitude for those who have served and paid the ultimate price to preserve the things and ideals we take for granted nearly every day, all the time thinking that these things will remain in place without any need for protection.
So today, remember the price paid, the lives cuts short. Hate war, yes. But give these soldiers who have shed their blood our gratitude and respect, as well as our empathy for the other lives they were never able to realize.
Redtree Times 