Patriotism has turned into a clich. “God bless America” … “We shall never forget” So much has been said, both by those who were thankful and by those who were simply acting out an obligation to speak in honor, of those who have come before us. The irony is that so much has been said about our veterans that… the words lose meaning, and we start to forget.

I feel it is impossible to capture the Idea behind this holiday and put it into words… much less the few words in a small essay. I have seen men who are “tougher than nails” break down when they even think about their contribution to the Idea. Because of that, I feel it is in vain to try to explain the significance of those American veterans who came before us, and the significance of what they did, and the significance of how we benefit from what they did. I feel it is in vain to give an attempt at capturing so great an idea with mere words. But not giving an attempt to capture that sacred concept would be a crime far too great to commit, so I shall try anyways.

It is often thought that those who fight for America are fully grown men, draped in a flag, or with Hollywood personalities in an action-movie like environment. The focus of Americans when at war is on the war itself… and not the cause of war, not on the principles of our side in the conflict and not on the effects of that war.

In our focus on the war we forget the multitudes who also are the casualties of war, though not KIA’s or POWs… Countless American families left to weep for the loss of their loved ones. Young wives left to raise their children alone for the rest of their lives. Mothers who have felt the greatest pain; seeing a son leave, him saying “I’ll be alright, I love you”, and then never coming back. Sons and daughters who will grow up without their daddy. Oh, yes, we’ve probably all been moved to tears in a heart-wrenching movie about these things … but remember that these tales of suffering do not end in two-and-a-halve hours with credits and bitter-sweet music. These tales never cease, the pain never ceases, the carnage will never cease.

Oh, thank God for those who were willing, for those who loved us, people they would never meet… enough to kill and die for us.

I pray that God will ease the pain of those who never went to war, but must battle their struggles in these times where they are reminded of their losses the most. Where every “patriotic” statement brings back a flood of memories… God ease the pain.

I pray that God will help erase the scars of those who came back to their homes, their families and friends, of those who survived, yet must struggle with the memories of being hated, even here, even at home; hated at home. Of those soldiers who were spit upon by ungrateful friends… who they had given so much for.

But most of all, I pray that Americans will not allow these “dead to have died in vain.” I pray that Americans will not turn the Idea into a sentimental and emotional time of flag bearing once or twice a year. I pray to God that Americans will become veterans themselves in the cause of Liberty; the Idea. That they will be willing to give up the most basic luxuries for the sacred and holy cause of Liberty, and that they will value no material thing higher than that cause.

But most of all, I pray that the remembrance and the “patriotism” will stop being a focus of a holiday, but will become the focus of every day; a lifestyle of Liberty and the Idea.