Service

This nation has always had people who put service to others as a priority.  It is, I think, what lead John Fitzgerald Kennedy to say “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”  We forget this special trait breed into us, especially in the stress of a contentious election.

Whether it was the citizen soldiers who came together to defend their homes and families on the frontiers of the colonies or those in todays world where we've asked so many to serve in the far corners of the world after 9/11.

In times of conflict there have always been those who’ve stepped forward and said send me.  This weekend we as a nation will pause for a moment to remember the fathers, mothers, sons and daughters that have had to courage to face their fear and continue on to defend the rights we hold dear.

In the 1960’s our opposition to a war lead to us ostracizing the young men that were selected to fight it.  We have come a long way as we’ve matured and come to understand you can oppose a war, but the men and women who serve our nation should not be blamed for the decisions of our politicians’ who decide to send them into harm’s way.

Please take a moment on Sunday, at 11am, to pause from your activities and remember the sacrifices asked of our young men and women, and their families.  If you believe in a loving God, please ask for his mercy and guidance that we may someday find a way where war is no longer a potential, where all humans are viewed as equal, and power and authority are earned, not taken.

This video is not romantic, it is hot heroic, and certainly is not intended to depict war as a glorious adventure.  I include it so you have a small sense of what we ask of our soldiers, sailors, airman and marines, and why they deserve our respect and gratitude.

Thank you.