Military serves proudly for apathetic Americans
Whether Americans care or not, the men and women that serve in the military are willing to sacrifice their lives to protect their country and its people.
COMMENTARY
Emily Baker

Ever walk past a group of people and pick up parts of their conversation? I was walking to class last Wednesday — Sept. 11— and some bits of a conversation that floated to my ears hit me like a gut-punch.

A few ROTC cadets stood guard at the flag pole all day that day. The students having the conversation I picked up on were laughing. They said, “That is so stupid. Why would anybody stand there for how-ever long staring off for no reason? Who is going to steal the flag?”

Stupid? How could anyone use that word to describe our servicemen and servicewomen?

These are people who voluntarily say, “Everything will be okay. I am willing to kill and be killed just to protect you — to make sure you are safe.” These men and women are our personal bodyguards, if you will. They are willing to give their own life just so each of us never has to know the pain and destruction of war. They fight so we don’t have to. Many of them died in our place because if they didn’t go, we would have had to.

How could anybody use the word “stupid” to describe the symbol of those servicemen and servicewomen who died to ensure our safety?

In my opinion, guarding the flag of our country is the highest honor any military person can experience aside from dying for the country. As a civilian, I feel a great deal of pride when I post the flag outside my apartment door each morning and a great sense of humility when I retire the flag each evening before the sun goes down.

Think of the words to our national anthem. Even through a long battle, the flag remained. The flag survives — and so will we as Americans — all because our military is there to ensure it.

These days the word “hero” is so overused. But, each person who ever put on a military uniform and obeyed the command of Uncle Sam is a hero because they each have the guts, dedication and selflessness many of the rest of us — including me — lack.

Even if we don’t quite have those guts, dedication and selflessness, it doesn’t take a whole lot of effort to be thankful for the sacrifices made by those who are in, or have been, in the military. In fact, I can’t comprehend why thankfulness for them wouldn’t come naturally to all of us.

Ask a solider or sailor or ROTC cadet what it means to them when someone actually tells them “thank you.” I promise their eyes will shine.

A couple of years ago, I interviewed a lance corporal in the Marine Reserve for a newspaper special on Veterans Day.

I asked him, “Why did you join the Marine Corps?”

“To serve my country, ma’am.”

“What exactly does that mean?,” I asked him.

“To be willing to give my life for people who don’t appreciate that sacrifice, ma’am,” he said, as his crystal blue eyes burned through my sympathies. I learned then not to feel sorry for people who choose such a life of sacrifice but instead to feel proud of them.

“Does that ever bother you, that they don’t care?,” I proposed.

“A little. But they are all Americans — the ones who care and the ones who don’t — and that’s all that matters. I’d lay my life down for all of them if I have to. Maybe the next time a Marine dies, the ones who don’t care will think of that and have a pain in their conscience. Either way, it’s an honor to serve, ma’am.”

Emily Baker is a junior news-editorial journalism major from Midland. She can be reached at (e.k.baker@tcu.edu).