On honoring veterans–why the ambivalence?
I joined my dad and mom and dad’s two brothers for lunch the other day. In the circle of subjects orbiting the table came the practice of honoring veterans. My uncles commented that some people believe that time honoring veterans is not time well spent. In pondering this, the subject of the sixties and of Vietnam weaved itself into the conversation, followed by suggestions of generational differences; hearing this, dad pointed to me and said, “There’s the generation, ask him.”
Wow, there I sat, a little boy at the grown-up table, and the grown-ups looked to me and asked, “So Gregg, what do you think?” Only this time, the little boy was fifty-five years old and hardly represents a generation.
Boy, was I scared. Sometimes I don’t know what I think about something until I think about it. I generally like to squeeze the juices out of ideas and allow them to age a bit. If these juices are aired before sufficient fermentation, an acidity renders them worthless–like vinegar. This is one of the greatest generational differences. These three men and my mother have this ability to take ideas, right and wrong, and fling them willy-nilly over the table and wait and watch as wrong ideas fall off the edge and right ideas sort of coagulate into a concensus. Maybe it’s the age of certification, or licensing, or promotions, diplomas, and other forms of high value placed on being right, but I have a dread of letting wrong ideas pass my lips.
Anyway, they were counting on me, so I did the best I could, managing only to address the generational differences, and suggested that indeed, growing up in the sixties created in me a distrust of leadership and mainstream media. I pointed out that even Walter Cronkite, that trusted icon of journalism, told us to no longer trust our leaders:
“We’ve been too often disappointed by the optimism of the American leaders both in Vietnam and Washington to have faith any longer in the silver linings they find in the darkest clouds.” (1968)
It was a grand answer that served magnificently to not address the main question they raised, the honoring of veterans at this or that church or social function. I admit that I am one who always stands to recognize our veterans whenever the request is made, but not without a degree of ambivalence. I never stopped to think about this ambivalence until asked by the grown-ups.
After thinking about it, I composed an email on the subject to answer their question. I’ve already said that I’m fifty-five years old, so add a generation’s years to my age and you have theirs. This is what I wrote:
My life has seen the United States of America engaged in armed conflicts on foreign soils. The enemy during my life has been abstractions: The Threat of Communism, Drugs, and Terror (these latter two being criminal acts arbitrarily redefined). To my knowledge, no defined outcome exists from which to determine the success of these operations. My only experience is my country perpetually engaged in undeclared wars with no end in sight.
While your lives witnessed the notion of being in the service as service to country, in the service for my generation, with exception, is a stepping-stone to one’s future interests, not unlike other career-path options–diplomas, certifications, or apprenticeships. As an adult (the draft ended the year I turned eighteen), I have witnessed only volunteer armed forces focused not on what one can do to serve his or her country, but on what military service can do for the individual. Note the nature of the slogans used to recruit individuals to the various branches: the Army–Be All You Can Be, or Get an Edge on Life, the Navy–It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure, the Air Force–Aim High, and the Marines–Looking for a few good men, or The few, the proud. Our armed services no longer rely on community interest to attract individuals, but on those individuals’ self-interest.
In writing this, Jessica Lynch comes to mind. Remember Jessica? The first American POW to be successfully rescued since WW II? The first woman POW? This young woman debunked the Pentagon embellished, mainstream media reported stories of her GI Jane-type heroism. Very little of the story was true. She joined the Army because there were no jobs in West Virginia. She hoped the Army would lead to college where she wished to become a kindergarten teacher. While I might feel ambivalent about honoring her as a veteran, I will never feel that ambivalence toward honoring her for her honesty.
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