Wednesday was the first day off of school many of us have had in a long time. There were families sporting the American flag and enjoying the day together, probably something most don’t have the opportunity to do on a regular basis.
Many spent the day sleeping in, watching TV, maybe playing a video game or two.
Some commented how the free day was a chance to party in the middle of the week.
Everyone needs a day off once in a while, but not when it comes at the cost of forgetting why that day is free. Not when the name of a soldier who lost his life is the namesake of the Pat Tillman tunnel ASU football players run through to entertain us during the season and we don’t even remember why.
Many of our nation’s heroes didn’t have a respite from a busy week. It’s unfortunate a lot of the people we’re supposed to be honoring didn’t have the pleasure of relaxing for the day. These men and women set aside their daily newspapers for radios, their business suits for heavy army uniforms, their commute to work through traffic for Humvees and checkpoints, and while we rested, they were still hard at work.
Yes, Wednesday was a day of rest. But now that they’ve given us a little break to catch up, isn’t it time we return the favor?
It sounds like a big job and feels like too much for one person to take on. And it is. One person can’t change the state of the world. But one person — you — can do something.
Little things make a big impact.
How excited are you when you get a letter by snail mail? How special does that make you feel? How much of an effect could a note from the United States have on a solider?
Maybe you dread Girl Scout cookie season — both for your waistband and because you can’t resist buying Thin Mints from the hordes of precious little girls in pigtails on every corner. But with projects like Hugs for Soldiers, you can also buy an extra box or two to send to troops overseas. For you, Samoas and Do-Si-Dos may be late-night snacking temptations, but for servicemen and women, they’re reminders of normalcy.
And, while we have a responsibility to be there for our troops currently abroad, Veterans Day was a good reminder for us to meditate on the sacrifices of time and safety given in the past to protect our freedom.
Too many servicemen and women wander the streets with tattered flags flying from their backpacks. And more than 130,000 on any given night, according to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, don’t have a place to call home.
They gave up so much of themselves for us, how can we not do something for them?
Take a line from John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
You don’t have to support the war or the president to support people who put their lives in danger. You just have to take little steps. Start by sharing a box of Thin Mints or two.
