As we salute all American veterans on this special day, we must not forget that freedom is not free. Veterans Day is a day to honor and respect those who have served and protected our great nation, and those who continue to help secure our future.
As proud Americans, we need to stand united as one nation. Fact is, all of us stand on the shoulders of so many who have gone before and willingly put themselves in harm’s way.
Whatever may momentarily divide us shrinks to insignificance when we consider what unites us. America is not just the geographical territory defined by two oceans and northern and southern borders. The nation is each of us together in our republic.
When I was an active duty Marine, you often heard this sentiment: “There are no White Marines and no Black Marines. All Marines are green together.” In case anyone believes this is weak-minded or overly sentimental, the saying continued, “But some Marines are darker green than others.”
With this attempt at humor, all Marines acknowledged our bonds and at the same time respected the differences that were simply factual. They weren’t inherently negative or controversial, just a fact.
Can’t we apply this thinking about how we regard all Americans?
Our allegiance to the nation isn’t born from a commonality of tribe or religion and isn’t emergent from a monarchy. What we have is our shared belief in the divinity and value of each individual.
We are citizens and not subjects. We are a people of free will who live in the most blessed nation God ever graced the world with. The blessings of America continue to shower all the world’s populace and as long as we “keep it,” as Ben Franklin pointed out, we will remain blessed.
On this Veterans Day, may we continue to build the America we know and treasure, the America we know it to be, not the divided nation we see too often in this fractured world.
God bless America and protect our troops worldwide. To all veterans out there on this special day, “Semper Fi!”
Dakota Meyer is Marine veteran of the War in Afghanistan. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Ganjgal on Sept. 8, 2009, in Kunar Province.