I, probably like most people, have people in my life who are either currently in military service or who have served.
I, probably like most people, have people in my life who have been affected by war … some having given the last full measure.
And I, probably like many people, don’t give anywhere near the level of respect, love, admiration and thanks to these people that I should.
Paradoxically, many of the people in my life who are or have served would also bristle at the very idea of what I just wrote in that last sentence.
It is on this day, now called Veteran’s Day, formed after WWI as Armistice Day, that we as a nation pause to recognize those who have served in our armed forces. Unlike Memorial Day, we honor all who have served – past and present, dead or alive, young or old, man or woman. Today, we as a nation make it a point to thank our service people. We hold parades and special church services. Politicians make speeches. People who do that sort of thing attach even more magnetic ribbons to their cars.
What I find curious, however, is the general approach that many of these people (at least the ones I know) take toward all of this public adulation – many of them just hate it. I suppose to a certain extent, this is simply a reflection of how most of us are – reasonably humble about ourselves and uncomfortable with a great deal of praise. It’s interesting to me to hear from these folks that they don’t feel right about the thanks and the praise. They were just doing their jobs. They were just following orders. They were professional soldiers, sailors, Marines. “What are people thanking me for?”
Maybe some of it is the idea of being singled out as individuals. For most of these folks, they’ve spent their careers as part of a very large team. They’ve gotten used to being addressed as a group. Individual recognition, while fairly common, comes as the result of a direct action by the person, not just “for your service”. Perhaps that’s part of it. Perhaps the discomfort comes from being thanked by people in the general public, who generally have no idea what these folks have gone through or how they’ve lived, simply for being employed in the job they do. It’s almost as it they feel like someone is thanking the girl at the checkstand of the local grocery store just for coming to work at 7:00 am.
I don’t know either. I am not a veteran. I’ve never served my country other than trying to be a good citizen. So I’m in the category of the majority of the rest of the population who has no real idea how these folks have actually lived. Oh sure, I’ve heard the stories -but the stories I’ve heard are all “civilianized.” Spend a little time around a group of folks who have served together and you, as the full-time-never-served civilian will feel distinctly out of place very quickly – and not because these folks are mean or trying to be anti social – but merely because they have a jargon, a language, a set of common experiences that I can’t share … and most of it I don’t understand. It’s no different than one of my non-technical friends sitting in a room full of Broadcast Engineers.
What I do know is that over the years, I’ve learned to temper the amount of thanks I send out to our veterans. I appreciate their service and their sacrifice. I am thankful that they have chosen a life of service and sacrifice. But I stop short of just sending out blanket thank-you’s because the last thing I want to do is to make my friends feel uncomfortable.
But there are days when, I’m sorry good friends, I’m going ot be a bit more effusive about this. Our service people and veterans have given much to our country and to people all over the world. No matter how you feel about the politics of any particular situation these people are or were in, they chose to serve and they chose to do the job they’ve done. For that, they absolutely deserve my thanks and the thanks of a grateful nation. These are, in most cases, amazing yet quiet people who have dedicated their lives to the rest of us.
So, Veterans … thank you for your service.
Sorry if that makes you uncomfortable.
