This Veteran's Day
Posted: Wednesday, November 12, 2008
by James Bond
http://www.jamesandjanka.com/
As I step out of my house to begin the journey that will landscape this conversation, I hear the B side players practicing in Solrak's garage. It is as if the universe has decided to provide me with theme music to set the scene for this journey. I pause in front of the garage and allow the vibrations to wash clear the static and tension of my thoughts. I breathe in the audible emotion and exhale that which I lost connection with so long ago. I mourn the lost as the joyous vibrations are over taken by the rapid succession of jabs from accelerating engines of cars passing by. I don't struggle even as the waves of the kick drum are absorbed by the stillness of the dense concrete.
"Share it....take it out....look at it..then put it back it is yours"
So by this time in my play list an original song I wrote is on "Riddick" the opening line is "They are an Army unlike any other, crusading across the stars to a place called underverse" . The Universe is messing with me, I smile and think of my days in the army. I think of how instrumental the military was in shaping both my identity and my father's identity. I feel the army was paid on the job training for one way to navigate within American society. It was here I learned techniques for challenging authority that love would not allow me to attempt at home. It was here I also learned the consequences of those techniques first hand and by example. By living with and becoming a member of a truly diverse community I learned first hand both the power and nuances of diversity. I learned the comfort of joining with others who shared similar belief systems, values, and backgrounds. I also learned the lapse in judgment it often caused when dealing with situations where prudence would call for one to be impartial.
It was in the army that I was acknowledged and rewarded for the principles of leadership I demonstrated when imitating my father, mother, or at times improvising. It was here I learned to both lead and follow, when and how to both seize and submit to authority. I learned to respect the power of operant conditioning in the army. I also learned the power of knowledge in the military and that is probably the reason I am a scholar today.
These benefits though did not come without a cost. My youthful energy supplied power to a machine that allowed my government to carry out some things that I feel are counter to the health of our society, and well being of our planet. Even as I write this though, I realize I think the same thing about our entire human race. I look at things to deeply to either deny or ignore that fact.
Sadly I also realized the way I learned to be in the world was not designed with love. In more concrete terms it was not designed with the realization of my potential as the goal. The lessons where designed with the intention of the army being able to extract the maximum of my worth while maintaining a maximum amount of control and influence. Mixed with the self worth instilled in me by my family and church these lessons allowed me to create the existence I now both enjoy and suffer through.
So how do I feel about being a veteran? Like all of the classifications that I fall into it is a mixture of joy and pain. The title for me invokes feelings of pride and regret that can only be acknowledged and validated.
I should probably add I had a wonderful dinner with one of the friends that wished me a happy veteran's day. It was really pretty cool.
Good night
Veteran :0)
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)I remember the Vietnam years. Military people were not treated with the same respect or courtesy or honor that we had in the past and today. Theyw ent and came without so much as a peep. Yes and while they may get that recognition today. It will never take away the pain. Thanks for a good article.Thanks Robert, I was a kid back then but I know what you are talking about. A lot of them still have a lot of pain and it is so sad to me.
hi james,well, this article was sent to me from above. it was well written and interesting, and helped with what was on my mind, my son, 21, going into the air force soon. i have mixed feelings, but fear is the strongest, although i think he will learn all you wrote about as well. thank you for sharing your thoughts,i hope you keep writing,welcome to searchwarp,and thank you,best regards,sue thomThanks Sue and I am really glad the article had meaning for you.May your son be blessed and protected on this journey of life.I want to become a better writer and I hear the only way to do that is to write. I suspect I will post quite regularly.
Wonderful article, James. Such a refreshing change from the election theme. I hope you had a wonderful Veterans Day. I attended a Veteran's Day program at my grandson's pre-school and listened to the little ones say the Pledge of Allegiants. It was really cute. Thanks for sharing your day with us.SandraThanks for reading Sandra, and I did have a lot of fun that day. I am really glad it sounds like you had a great day too.
This was a really good article....and captured the feelings of a lot of veterans of our generation I'm sure. I too served in the mlitary but find it hard to consider myself a veteran as my efforts kept me protected in an underground computer room tracking missile launches. But I suppose I am a vet. I am proud to be an American and suffer huge feelings of patriotism, especially now that my country saw fit to break the racial barrier ceiling and vote into office our first black president. But it is bittersweet in that it took so long and our country is still a melting pot of people who still try to live in the past of ignorance and refuse to embrace all people that are Americans., but to balance them we have more enlightened people who see the beauty in all Americans - their color and their culture - we are a better people due to our melting pot. Back to serving in the military, yes I'm proud of my country but clearly see what our military has done all over the world in the name of "freedom". Our definition of freedom. I had a tough time explaining this holiday to my children when they were small. We celebrated the day by taking flowers to the cemetary and putting flowers on the graves of vets who didn't have any....and then I would explain to my children why I felt we should honor these men who gave it all to defend the beliefs of America. I am still not sure if they truly understand that Veteran's day is more than a day for shopping due to the sales. LOL.Thanks for sharing Sharon. I can't wait to read some of your thoughts up here.James
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