The United States military has proven to be  one of the strongest forces in the world. There are hundreds of thousands of brave Americans who sacrifice their personal liberties, time with families and sometimes their lives so the rest of us can continue to enjoy the freedoms we have.
There are certainly people out there who do not agree with some of the wars our military is engaged in, and that is perfectly acceptable. Part of what our soldiers are doing is giving you that right to decide you disagree with the government.
The thing that gets under my skin is when someone shifts his or her dislike of the war from the war itself onto the soldiers. This is just wrong.
The soldiers who are risking their lives have absolutely no say in what conflicts in which they take part.
Decisions of that nature come from the head of the government. Soldiers in our military deserve nothing but the utmost respect.
Whenever I see a man or woman in uniform, my heart swells with pride.
Whether he or she is a soldier, sailor, airman or marine I feel an unparalleled sense of patriotism. I go out of my way to give the person the respect he or she deserves.
I think you should, too. I urge you to thank a veteran the next time you see one.
No matter if he or she served in Korea, Vietnam or recently in Iraq or Afghanistan, we should thank and respect these veterans.
I can almost guarantee you veterans will greatly appreciate you took the time to thank them.
Granted, I may have a somewhat skewed view on this issue. My father was a pilot for the U.S. Air Force. Because of him, I grew up on planes.
I feel at home in the air. I, too, am planning on joining the air force to become a pilot.
If you are reading this and are feeling charitable (assuming you are not a broke college student), I have an organization I believe is worthy of your donations.
The Wounded Warrior Project has always piqued my interest. This is one of the most honorable charity organizations in the U.S. As stated on woundedwarriorproject.org, the organization’s purpose is to “raise awareness and enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured service members, help injured service members aid and assist each other and provide unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of injured service members.”
Even if you feel soldiers do not deserve respect, I would hope you at least have some moral sense. Realize while you may not agree with the cause those brave soldiers fought for, they are still human beings. They deserve every opportunity to obtain a normal life after the sacrifices they have made.
Care packages and contact from back home help soldiers through their deployments.
If you have any spare time, do your best to put a simple package together. Include in it some candies, magazines, books, letters, movies or anything that could help a soldier deal with homesickness. We need a better system for helping our veterans readjust to civilian life once they leave the service. There are far too many cases of homeless veterans.
Whether the solution comes from the government or from a private organization, something needs to be done. If you want to disagree with a war, that is your prerogative. But do not hate the soldiers for something they cannot control. Instead, you should voice your opinion in a proactive manner by contacting your representatives.
After all, it is they who make these decisions. To me, the servicemen and women who fight for our country are some of the bravest people there are. Veterans take great courage to sacrifice so much, while asking for so little in return.