Some Gave All - by Robin Janney

Memorial Day.

No matter how you slice or dice it, war is ugly.

It has not changed over the years, no matter how civilized it has become with smart bombs and satellite images and wars being fought in the media with words and pictures as much as on the front line with bullets and bayonets.

Because in war, people die.  All too often, it is the wrong people who end up paying the highest price.  Innocents.

There have been times when war was a necessary evil.  Men (and women) fighting against oppression and cruelty and for their right to govern themselves.  Many dying for a cause they believed in.  Many dying for a cause they didn't chose for themselves - those drafted against their will to serve.  Brother fighting against brother.

War can unite us and free us just as easily as it can divide us and enslave us.

But on this day, a day set aside to remember and honor our fallen soldiers, let us set aside our personal feelings over war and do exactly that.  Remember and Honor and Appreciate.  For without their sacrifice, especially the early heroes, we would probably not be allowed to have those differing opinions about war.  Because of their sacrifice we can belong to any religion we want, or no religion if that is our choice.

Thank you, whoever you were...

No matter how many of our freedoms we are having taken away in the Unites States, they were there in the first place because someone believed enough in the right to be free not just to fight for it, not just to kill for it, but they believed enough to die for it.

Some people do not have the courage to even stand up for themselves, but in our past wars some of those very same people not only found that courage but also the courage to stand up for others.

Without their sacrifices, willing or not, where would this country be?  We have much to be thankful for here in the United States.  Even this blog is able to exist because of the freedom of speech and press that our First Amendment guarantees us.  A freedom we don't always appreciate.

Today, when we are picnicking with our friends and families, let's not forget to take a moment and just be grateful for freedoms we have that were bought with the blood of too many men and women.

The cliche that freedom isn't free, is all too true.  Just ask anyone who has lost a loved one in a war.

Be safe today peeps!  I'm soon to be on my way to a family picnic, and will likely visit graves afterward.  How do you observe Memorial Day?