On Nov. 5, for the 60th time in this nation’s history, its citizens were able to exercise a right still denied to those living in most other countries on the planet. Not only did close to 150 million Americans go to the polls to select a new president, but even though a substantial majority decided to reject the regime currently in power and embrace a different direction, we have every reason to believe the transfer of power in January will be peaceful and civil as it always has been.
For all of this, we can thank our armed services. And what better occasion to do so than today, on Veterans Day?
It bears noting that, unlike in countries whose freedoms are more precarious, nowhere in the U.S. did we see armed troops stationed at polling places to either ensure a fair and free election or intimidate voters considering challenging the entrenched tyrant. That’s because, for all of America’s shortcomings, the former is unnecessary and the latter unthinkable.
We don’t require that bloody conflict accompany every regime change precisely because our cherished sons and daughters have time and again answered the call to defend our rights and freedoms against foreign aggressors and stand as a continuing sentinel to discourage treachery from within.
We justifiably pay tribute to our service members twice a year. On Memorial Day, we honor those who’ve lost their lives in the struggle to safeguard the liberty and values we hold dear, and on Veterans Day we recognize, too, that those who weren’t called to make the ultimate sacrifice nonetheless voluntarily paid a heavy price on our behalf.
Whether the toll is collected on the front lines in war or in a support position during peacetime, every member of the military is trained in basic combat skills and knows his or her first responsibility is to fight.
And it’s a burden they voluntarily accepted when they took the job.
Their service takes many forms. Our military consists of six branches — Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and, most recently, the fledgling Space Force — and its members can opt for active or reserve duty, or serve in their state’s National Guard in a wide variety of career fields virtually anywhere around the globe.
The job is rarely glamorous and never lucrative. But it has its rewards.
There are worse ways to spend a few years or an entire career than knowing you’ve put your life in harm’s way in defense of the ideals on which this nation was founded and continues to thrive.
On Veterans Day, we honor those currently in uniform and those who’ve moved on to civilian life after turning their awesome responsibilities over to the next generation of quiet heroes. At the Freedom Foundation, we sanctify that service every day by struggling against forces that would erode through stealth and subterfuge the freedoms purchased with the blood and toil of America’s gallant military.
It’s the least we can do, and on Veterans Day we join our fellow Americans in recognizing their steadfast presence.
