Voting

I realize that Election Day is tomorrow and I should probably be writing something about the candidates, the parties, or the dire predictions, but there is something more important to write about and that is our men and women in the military. Without these brave people, the election tomorrow would be either non-existent or meaningless. Many countries hold elections some even boast of 100% turnout as the voters trudge to the polls to vote for the candidate of the candidate’s choice, himself. It has been said that the US ranks around 130^th when percentages of the number of people voting is measured. . Since I know that there are not 130 countries with voting processes that are worth a damn, I look at that number with distain.

Saying our military fight for your right to vote would be disingenuous however, they really don’t. They also don’t fight for your right to say whatever you like even if what you say is ignorant. Saying these things is similar to saying you go to work to make money or because you want to feel fulfilled. Bull turds. You work because you need to provide for yourself or your family. They serve and fight to keep our country safe, the rest is up to you.

When young men 18 and 19 join the military, it is not always for the most noble of reasons and I think we all know this. Some feel they have little choice and that perhaps they will find their purpose in a very structured setting. Some join for the benefits of education and other incentives that the military offers recruits and we have all heard the whining of those who complain when they are deployed because they never signed up to fight in Iraq.

There are some who joined for the opportunities afterwards such as jobs that require military backgrounds or increase your political advantage by having service on your resume. Still others join to avoid jail time for some transgression they have committed and by doing so avoid a jail sentence. Oh and yes, many do join for the love of country out of patriotism, duty, honor and many others for a host of other reasons. It is not their reason for joining that I want to talk about today, it is the transformation that happens to all of them afterwards.

What many people fail to realize is these young men and women become part of something greater than themselves. The selfish, the bold, the shy ones, and the compassionate ones, the patriotic all change. In times of war such as we are now engaged in, these young men and women learn three things in no particular order other than my way of writing about them, so take no subliminal message away from the order.

They learn that this is the greatest country in the world and it is worth defending. You will not hear what a rotten country this is or how the world’s failings are the fault of the United States from the military command and structure. You will see many flags, many banners, many insignias, and polished metals. You will salute the flag and not spit on it or burn it and you will do it because it is right, not because some politician passed a law.

Additionally they learn that they are something more than they were. Whatever their motivation for entering the service they become stronger of body and will. They push themselves to excel and this is not to be the fastest on the obstacle course, or the best shooter, but to become leaders, wherever their paths lead them. They need not come out to become presidents or CEOs though many do, some may become little league coaches or small business owners or truck drivers. They come out with a purpose they never had when they entered, they come out to succeed.

Lastly, they learn that their fellow soldiers are their closest and dearest friends. These are people that they entrust their lives to and they hold their fellow military members in their hands. They do not have to think during battles if the man or woman next to them will protect them with their life, it is understood, it is instinctive as they will be for them. The bonds they forge last lifetimes whether they join veteran organizations such as the VFW or not.

When they lose one of their own, they have lost more than a friend, more than a family member; they have lost a piece of themselves. A piece they will never be able to replace and for some this is too hard a burden to bear but for others it makes them stronger, if not a little sadder. A limb lost is their limb, a life lost is their life, and it cannot be any other way.

Some will always point to those few that distain the military or strive to weaken it after having served such as our Massachusetts senator, but all I can say is that some character flaws are deeper than even the military can remove because not even god removed it from them. When you go to vote tomorrow remember these men and women, serve them, protect them because you know they will do the same for you without question, without hesitation without asking for your favors.