-By Warner Todd Huston
It is very, very easy to forget that the members of our American military even exist. Unlike other peoples we don’t live in a nation where the members of our military are skulking around our streets, automatic weapons in hand, glaring menacingly at each citizen and they pass by during their daily activities. We don’t have soldiers extorting travelers, forcing themselves on politicians, or threatening autonomous action at home. We are lucky like that.
So, since they aren’t always under foot and as highly visible to the average citizen as the military of other nations, it is easy to forget the U.S. military is out there fighting hard for our safety. But that is how our founders meant it to be. You see, unlike other nations whose military is part of the ruling class, whose soldiers are the cynical arm of tinpot dictators, our soldiers serve us… it’s not the ‘tother way ’round.
That’s right, the soldiers that make up America’s armed forces really are serving their country, not being served by her. And that little-remembered aspect of our military’s everyday charge is something we really need to celebrate even as it is something we often over look.
Certainly it is good and right to honor those troops that have given their last full measure fighting for our safety and liberties. It is also right that we honor those that are serving or have served. But let’s honor them not just for their service but also for their forbearance from becoming the same sort of menacing, dangerous, oppressive force that the military in other countries so often are.
Let us thank each member of our armed forces for keeping the charge that our founders entrusted to them, a charge that makes our military the scourge of evil in the world but lambs at home. They face the bullets and bombs of our enemies on foreign soil but at home they help us through disasters and make us feel safer. This is a civilized state of affairs that doesn’t exist in most other nations and our soldiers were some of the first in man’s history to ever serve their fellows in such an honorable way.
As we thank our solders for their service, let’s remember that as some of the most heavily armed soldiers in the world, they are still honorable enough to really serve us instead of attempting to rule us as so many other nation’s soldiers do.
This truly selfless service makes of our soldiers citizens that are a step above those armed oppressors of other nations and it is just one more aspect of their service to we the people that we must never forget.
Happy Memorial Day 2010
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“The only end of writing is to enable the reader better to enjoy life, or better to endure it.”
–Samuel Johnson
Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer. He has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 200 and before that he wrote articles on U.S. history for several small American magazines. His political columns are featured on many websites such as Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com, BigHollywood.com, and BigJournalism.com, as well as RightWingNews.com, CanadaFreePress.com, StoptheACLU.com, AmericanDailyReview.com, among many, many others. Mr. Huston is also endlessly amused that one of his articles formed the basis of an article in Germany’s Der Spiegel Magazine in 2008.
Huston has been a frequent guest on talk-radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events and is currently the co-host of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Conservatism” heard on BlogTalkRadio. Huston’s work has appeared on Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Neil Bortz, and Michael Savage. He has appeared on the G. Gordon Liddy show, dozens of local shows from coast to coast, and many blogtalk radio shows.
Mr. Huston has appeared on local TV news to discuss his writing, has been a guest of CNN’s blogger lunch, and has appeared on Breitbart TV’s B-Team show.
Warner is also the editor of the Cook County Page for RedCounty.com and has a blog on the Tribune-Owned http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/publius-forum/ChicagoNow.com website. He is a well known writer on Illinois politics.
He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of PubliusForum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston
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