Being a Veteran Today

Today is Veterans Day. A day where we as a nation honor our veterans. There will me be platitudes and thank you’s to our veterans. Commercials honoring the veterans for their sacrifice and dedication to our country will fill the airwaves. Restaurants will offer free meals. People will say this is no day to protest or burn the flag because it is Veterans Day. That is no way to honor the veterans. I want to share my thoughts about being veteran.

I went into the service in the Fall of 1972 due to the fact that my magic number was 9. For those of you too young to remember there was a draft. Based on when your birthday was would determine the order in which Uncle Sam sent you a letter that said, Come on Down. We have a special vacation plan for you.

At the time the Viet Nam War was in full swing. There was no end is site. I was opposed to the war for all sorts of reasons but I had three choices in front of me. Become a conscientious objector, move to Canada, or join the military.  

I had not built a resume as to why I opposed the war so becoming a conscientious objector was out. Moving to Canada was not an option for me. Hence, I became Private Rosing.  

Emotionally and mentally I aligned myself with those that were protesting the war more than those that that supported the war. Protest were happening all across the country. Some lost their lives as a result of being part of the protest movement. Many were thrown in jail and beaten. Still they persisted.

During the second part of military life, where they determined what my job was going to be in the military, the Paris Peace Accord was signed. January 27, 1973. The Viet Nam War had ended. Being sent to Viet Nam was no longer a possibility for my future. I would not have to put my life on the line in the jungles of Viet Nam for a war that I did not believe in.

I believe that those ongoing protests had played a key role in the signing a peace treaty to end our involvement in Viet Nam. No more troops would be going to Viet Nam. I may not be here today without those protests.

As a veteran I reflect upon that time now as I see all the protests against our new president elect. Many individuals are saying it is wrong to protest. The election is over and to get on with it.  I disagree.  The right to protest is fundamental to our democracy. Protesting does not mean we don’t acknowledge he won, it is about there is fundamental disagreement about him as our leader and what he stand for.  

So many people want to honor me and others that have served in the military. Me, I want to honor those that protest with conviction in their heart. It is their right to protest that is at the core of our democracy. Protest are about giving citizens the voice to say that they do not agree with policies or the direction of our country. Protests allow people to speak up and be heard

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As a veteran, I am with the protesters. For me, many (not all) of those who voted for the president elect, stand completely against the principles that I hold dear in this country. I believe that all people, women, Blacks, Hispanics, Muslims, and members of the LGBT community all are part of this country. They should not be discriminated against nor should be made to feel they are second class citizens. They should not be afraid to live in America.

As a country we honor the Statue of Liberty as a symbol of what made the United States so great. It is a reminder that this country was made up first and foremost of immigrants. Understanding that all but a few of us are here by way of having an ancestor emigrate to the U.S. from another country. That fact is important to remember. That is what has allowed us to now be citizens in the United States of America by birth.

An inscription at the foot of the statue states, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Speaking for myself as a veteran, if you want to honor me as a defender of our freedom, you should also honor those that protest in order to have their voices heard regardless if you agree with the protesters or not. After all, that is what America has made America great.

Happy Veterans Day.

As a footnote, wasn’t our country formed out of protest?

A meeting with my friend

Whenever I come to my home town to visit there are a couple of friends that are on my list to see. I went over to one of their apartments on Saturday night. The evening started out fine. Talking about how things were going and then I must have said something that he wanted clarification on. I think it had to do with asking about my son and my talking about how glad I was that he was out of the service.

I made some reference to one of the main missions of the military was death and destruction as a means to achieve the end. (a side note, both he and I were in the military during the Viet Nam era but neither went to Viet Nam). That started the discourse down a path of the war in Iraq and religion. Bad place to go.

In the end of the conversation I asked him how with him being a "Christian," which is his main identity according to him,  how does his support of someone, Bush, who was into war and torturing people, and his distain for Obama, who wants to treat the world with dignity and respect, coexist? It is a question that I have often wondered. That wanting to respect all people, of seeing people as equal, as trying to spread peace through conversations instead of through war, is closer to Jesus' teachings then killing those who disagree with us. His answered scared me.

His religious teachings tell him the world is full of evil. That the United States has a responsibility to contain evil. In his view, without the containment, evil will take over the world. He sites his own classification of himself as evil because in the past he was a murderer. I think he was referring to Roe vs. Wade.

His black and white thinking and the fact that he saw himself as evil because of a few decisions in his life was scary. He spoke of not wanting to have a "world view" but a "biblical view." To him the world was an evil place, filled with evil people. On the other hand, I see the world as a wonderful place filled with good people who occasionally do bad things. Yes, there are evil or bad people, but they are the minority. I do not see the bible as mandate for whole world.

I find it ironic that I see the world as a far better place to live and see God as a more loving person than a person who sees themselves as such a Christian. The scary part was how he saw it as the United States' responsibility to police the world for and contain evil based on his view of religion.

I left thinking that I will have to do some grieving at a loss of a long time friend. I no longer feel the need to contact him as I come to my hometown. I choose not to be around someone who sees the world as such an evil place. 

Back in my home town

I have come back to McHenry, Illinois for a visit. I grew up in McHenry but have not lived here since 1978. To give you some perspective, I can remember the census when I was growing up being around 2,000. I think it is now around 20,000. Needless to say, I grew up in a small town.

Much of the old part of town looks the same on the outside. The buildings are the same but the name of the businesses have changed. Gone is the Ben Franklin, 5 & 10 cent store. I wonder what ever happened to "Frenchie?" I never knew what her real name was, that is just the name we had given her. She used to watch kids like a hawk, peering around the corner, trying to catch a kid shoplifting. Bolgers drug store is not longer there and Baskin and Robbins is long gone but the building is still there.

A few of the stores are still where they always have been. Riverside Bakery is still there. It is the best bakery in the world. A vanilla long john and a chocolate donut are always at least one morning breakfast when I come back into town. Then there is Bimbo's, a restaurant. The owners have changed but the place and he menu are much the same. Of course that is the second must place to eat when I am in town.

Coming back to McHenry is always an enjoyable experience. It always seems so different. In many ways it seems like only yesterday that I lived her. In other ways, it seems like a lifetime ago.