My calendar says that today is Veterans Day. Someone I respect greatly has made a good point, albeit indirectly, about days like this one. While it’s important to honor those who’ve served their country by putting themselves in harm’s way, it makes little sense to restrict our gratitude to one particular day of the year.

I’m not a patriot, and I’ve made no secret of that. There have been times when I felt mild patriotism and solidarity as an American; the days following the World Trade Center attack are an example of such a time. Most of the time, though, I’ve found myself ashamed. I feel sick when I think of what this country has become, particularly when I consider its auspicious and hopeful nascence.

Having said that, I have nothing but the greatest of respect for our veterans. I’m not particularly religious, but there are a few pearls of wisdom to be found among the scriptures. One of them is, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Veterans are people who have given of their lives and livelihoods, and made great sacrifices to act as instruments of their country’s foreign policy. As Lord Tennyson so eloquently put it:

Their’s not to make reply,
Their’s not to reason why,
Their’s but to do and die

While it makes little sense to sing their praises on just one day, it is entirely fitting that we be reminded on this day of the sacrifices they’ve made and the courage and selflessness they’ve shown. If it takes a holiday to bring these heroes into the minds of the people, then let’s have that holiday. Let us never repeat the injustice that was done to our returning Vietnam veterans, whose valor went shamefully unrecognized in the face of a national recoil from the foreign policy that sent them into the breach. Let us never fail to thank them, even in the knowledge that our thanks can never be sufficient.

The following are people will be in my thoughts today. To those who still draw breath, I offer my heartfelt thanks for your service. Those who are no longer with us have known my gratitude in days past, and will continue to be remembered with great respect. If I know a veteran who is not on this list, please accept my apology along with my sincerest gratitude.

Ramey Bruce Lee (deceased)
William Aaron Lee, Sr. (deceased)
Lucian Victor Lee (deceased)
John Milton Lee (deceased)
William Aaron Lee, Jr.
Baxter Lightfoot Lee
Paul Johnson (deceased)
Leonard Louis Dreyfus
Harry Robert Weber, Sr. (deceased)
Harry Robert Weber, Jr.
John Schuske
Kirk Anthony Steele
Laurence E. Richardson (deceased)
Robert F. Alexander
Brian Blalock
Steve Bell
Angelina Doyle
Michelle Sims
Cliff Neilsen
Tim Johnson