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Highlands Today

How Do You Thank A Veteran? By Being A Good American

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Highlands Today Staff

Published: November 11, 2007

Today is Veterans Day and plenty of activities are going on to honor the men and women who have worn our country's uniform. But do most Americans really know how to thank veterans?

Even veterans probably disagree, but it's reasonable to say that the best way to honor them is by being good Americans. Sometimes being a good American draws the ire of our fellow countrymen, but that's fine, because freedom is what it's all about.

Obviously we should tell veterans "thank you" for serving our country and keeping us free. But most veterans don't need a public pat on the back. They served for many reasons and too often people get caught up in patriotic fervor that really doesn't honor them, it just makes the person doing all the fawning feel good about it. But that's fine, too.

The point is that as Americans, what we owe our veterans is to participate in a society where opposing viewpoints can be aired, even when they are painful to hear, and respecting our right to live free. That's what they joined the service to protect, and it's up to us to continue our country's proud heritage of personal freedoms.

Even some veterans get upset when Americans criticize war or the government they serve, but that's fine too. Americans can disagree, and that doesn't make us weak, it makes us strong. And it has nothing to do with patriotism. It's why we are the envy of the world, that we can speak freely, think independently, worship (or not worship) in whatever manner we wish, and control our own destinies. That's pretty heady stuff and still unheard of in some parts of the world.

As we honor veterans today, keep in mind that many never saw combat, but their service was no less valuable. Whether a veteran was on the front lines or back in the states making sure critical supplies made it wherever they were needed, it's all service for the cause of freedom. Sometimes we get so caught up in honoring combat heroes that we forget the millions of Americans who have donned a uniform to do whatever was asked of them.

It's all of these veterans that we honor, and we can do it every day by being good Americans. That means praising our country for what's right, criticizing what's wrong and working hard to make our country the best it can be.

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