Veterans Day

Veterans Day always makes me stop and think.

I used to be a big 'thank the troops' person; not anymore. 'Thank a vet' has, for me, morphed into 'Hug a vet' for a few reasons that I think are valid. Hugging is a bit less socially appropriate but the things combat vets have done and seen, I don't see that they want our thanks. Among the vets I know (most of them combat vets), they'd rather not relive all that. Thank them for killing people? Thank them for participating in things they didn't always agree with? Thank them for watching their buddies get blown to smithereens? Thank them for obeying the orders of the State? I don't think so.

So, I say hug a vet instead. Different meaning conveyed altogether. It says, 'I care that you suffered as you did. I care that you went and did and saw things that no one should ever have to do or see. I care that you didn't know you could say no. I care that you cannot put it out of your mind. I care that you lost buddies to the jungle, to machine guns, to an IED, to suicide. I care that some of your wounds have not healed.' That's why I say 'hug a vet' instead.