It’s unfortunate this national Election Day falls so late in the month of November that it has seemingly all but overshadowed Veterans’ Day this year.
It’s a shame because we stand as a country largely on the strength of the men and women who have served us.
While our veterans, particularly those from the Vietnam era, might take being overshadowed and overlooked as par for the course, we strongly disagree.
It is our policy to thank our veterans every chance we get. It is precisely because of their service that our country has stood the test of time.
Really, lofty ideals such as freedom and liberty are nice and everything, but when it gets right down to it, all the principles in the world are really no substitute for the ability to punch someone square in the mouth when it’s called for.
If an Election Day in a Presidential Election year is the center of our political universe, it is also true our political universe exists as it does because of our veterans who have served with honor to defend our American way of life, all of it: from the joy of baseball and apple pie to the ugliness and frustration of big money party politics.
Speaking of Election Day, we heard a lot of talking about voting Nov. 6. We heard a lot of people encouraging each other to vote; heard from people who voted and people who wanted to vote.
It was refreshing to feel everyone so engaged. It felt good.
The heavy turnout Tuesday kept our local election officials and volunteer ballot clerks busy late into the night tabulating the results and we thank them for their service.
Through it all, we didn’t hear a single person complain about having the right to vote. On the contrary, we heard many people talk about how important voting is and what a pleasure; what an honor it is to live in a country where citizens are allowed, even encouraged, to participate.
In too many other places, critiquing the government will get you killed. In America, critiquing and speaking our minds about the government is very much a way of life.
As we have touched on before, the issues facing our great nation are many, they are complex, and they don’t lend themselves to sound bites.
We are on a precipice and we desperately need our state and national leaders to do the job they all volunteered and ran to do – lead.
The campaign is over and it is time to get to work. Thank God, because of our veterans, we have this work to do.
