Veterans Day November 11, 2004 reflections.....
Today is Veterans Day, a day to pause and reflect on the sacrifices that our Veterans have made to make our wonderful country free for you and I to be able to voice our opinions and live our lives in freedom. There is a wonderful Cartoon on Cox and Forkum's website http://www.coxandforkum.com that sums it up well.
The Ayn Rand Institute has also reissued the excellent editorial by Edwin A. Locke: Giving Real Meaning to Veterans Day.
"There is no more precious possession than one's own life. But without political freedom, human life is empty. Man cannot exist in any meaningful sense as a serf. The New Hampshire motto says it perfectly: "Live Free or Die."
Because human life is so precious, war should never be undertaken unless our rights are threatened. It is often said that our soldiers must sacrifice themselves for our country. This is precisely what we must not ask them to do. A sacrifice entails the surrender of a greater value for a lesser one. But if a man loses his life on the premise, "I would rather die than live in slavery," it is a tragic loss -- but it is not a sacrifice. Such a man is acting in his own interests, to protect his most precious values."
Today I personally reflect back on my visit to Arlington cemetery and the tomb of the unknowns, back in September 2001, just before 9/11. I remember standing there looking on and thinking about the ultimate sacrifice these brave people made so that I and everyone else could live here, in the USA, in freedom, today. Thank you to all our brave military men and woman!
Baltic Waves
The Ayn Rand Institute has also reissued the excellent editorial by Edwin A. Locke: Giving Real Meaning to Veterans Day.
"There is no more precious possession than one's own life. But without political freedom, human life is empty. Man cannot exist in any meaningful sense as a serf. The New Hampshire motto says it perfectly: "Live Free or Die."
Because human life is so precious, war should never be undertaken unless our rights are threatened. It is often said that our soldiers must sacrifice themselves for our country. This is precisely what we must not ask them to do. A sacrifice entails the surrender of a greater value for a lesser one. But if a man loses his life on the premise, "I would rather die than live in slavery," it is a tragic loss -- but it is not a sacrifice. Such a man is acting in his own interests, to protect his most precious values."
Today I personally reflect back on my visit to Arlington cemetery and the tomb of the unknowns, back in September 2001, just before 9/11. I remember standing there looking on and thinking about the ultimate sacrifice these brave people made so that I and everyone else could live here, in the USA, in freedom, today. Thank you to all our brave military men and woman!
Baltic Waves
posted by Baltic Waves at 10:36 AM
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