Tuesday's election was an example of that striving. In one way, we were free to exercise a vital right, which our military has been so vital in protecting. And in using that right we honor those who have sacrificed themselves to defend it. After so much scandal in recent months, and the barrage of political ads, today is a day to refocus — to remember and honor the sacrifice of our nation's troops, and their humanity.
In this time of war, it may be easy to forget, or even turn away from, the people who are truly in the middle of it: soldiers, who must face the reality that just waking up is a sacrifice in a land where suicide bombers, ambushes, kidnappings, and an enemy who fights unlike those faced by veterans of past wars, are everyday facts of life.
Today, Veterans Day, is a day to keep them in our thoughts, no matter what we think of the decisions that sent them to fight.
Let's hope today's troops soon see a day when they can put away their guns and come home. And when they do, we need to embrace them with respect for what they've given.
Let's hope that day will be a sobering but great day — a day of peace.
Veterans Day, after all, is rooted in peace. It stemmed from the armistice that was signed on Nov. 11, 1918, ending World War I. That day, when they come home, will truly be a Veterans Day for new generations, and one in which we can celebrate their sacrifice and peace. It's a day worth striving for.
