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I was on a flight today with a young man who was on his way to Texas, prior to deployment to the middle east. (I say young man, because he could have been my son - though he was clearly a bit older)
We chatted a bit, mostly small talk, though there were a few references to the war - I beleive he was with the 339th (medical), but I may have gotten confused - and it doesn't really matter who he was with. He was doing what he volunteered to do.
I bought him a beer on the flight - he thanked me and said something to the effect that it was for people like me, those that supported the military, that they did what they did.
I said, no, it is for the people that despise and loath the miltary that you and others like you go and fight. It is you who are protecting their right to express their thoughts - right or wrong. You are fighting to allow them the kind of freedom that just doesn't exist anywhere else in the world.
I told him not to be discouraged by these people, but to realize that HE and those LIKE HIM, are protecting these people's way of life, in a country that is strong enough and wonderful enough to tolerate their misguided thoughts.
He should find strength in their hate, in their rhetoric, for, if nothing else, it PROVES that what he and the others in the armed forces are doing works, and is something to be proud of.
He's doing for these people, something they are incapable of doing for themselves, because they have no comprehension of what sacrifices are being made on their behalf.
At that, we finished our beers and relaxed for the rest of the flight into Phoenix.We parted ways, as I went home and he went to find his connecting flight.
I will be including another unit in my prayers...
May God bless and watch over these fine men and women. Keep them safe and free from harm.
:devil:
We chatted a bit, mostly small talk, though there were a few references to the war - I beleive he was with the 339th (medical), but I may have gotten confused - and it doesn't really matter who he was with. He was doing what he volunteered to do.
I bought him a beer on the flight - he thanked me and said something to the effect that it was for people like me, those that supported the military, that they did what they did.
I said, no, it is for the people that despise and loath the miltary that you and others like you go and fight. It is you who are protecting their right to express their thoughts - right or wrong. You are fighting to allow them the kind of freedom that just doesn't exist anywhere else in the world.
I told him not to be discouraged by these people, but to realize that HE and those LIKE HIM, are protecting these people's way of life, in a country that is strong enough and wonderful enough to tolerate their misguided thoughts.
He should find strength in their hate, in their rhetoric, for, if nothing else, it PROVES that what he and the others in the armed forces are doing works, and is something to be proud of.
He's doing for these people, something they are incapable of doing for themselves, because they have no comprehension of what sacrifices are being made on their behalf.
At that, we finished our beers and relaxed for the rest of the flight into Phoenix.We parted ways, as I went home and he went to find his connecting flight.
I will be including another unit in my prayers...
May God bless and watch over these fine men and women. Keep them safe and free from harm.
:devil:
