Question: "Is There Pride in Serving In Our Military?"


A child cries in the night, but their anguish cannot be heard. The sound of men fighting for their last breath choke the silence of the night. Where there was once peace and harmony now lies destruction and chaos. To the child, this is what pure Hell sounds like. Every night sounds like the last until they blur together into an unending nightmare. Sometimes the child finds himself wishing he could close his eyes and fall asleep forever, but there is one thing that keeps him going on. The sight of Old Glory's red, white and blue.

There is no one in the world more dependable than those who wear the uniform of an American soldier. Like a brotherly figure, our soldiers are always there to protect and guide us. They sacrifice their time to ensure that we never have to sacrifice ours. During times of crisis, our soldiers are the ones we turn to for aid. During hurricane Katrina, they were the ones we called in to bring the survivors to safety and they have yet to let us down. While we turn and seek shelter during a natural disaster, they stay behind and do their best to make sure we have a home to return to. If not for them, we'd have nothing to look forward to once the rains have finally ceased.

The world is an endless cycle of destruction. In order to survive, something else must die. Death is not a topic most people find themselves comfortable with, and yet, the death of the soldier is the most beautiful death of all for he has given his life so that his five year old daughter at home won't have to. The same daughter who will one day make a positive difference in the lives of those around her.

Our military is far from perfect. If it was, we wouldn't need a military in the first place. The one thing that gives honor to those who serve in the military is not by what they do for our country, rather it's what we do for others that brings pride to serving in our military. It's not what you can do for your country, it's what you can do for others that truly matters. Even without the ability to stop a war before it begins, our military does bring one thing to those in need; the most vital resource of all - hope. As Emily Dickinson once said: "Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul - and sings the tunes without the words - and never stops at all". Without hope, we can't exist for there is nothing else to live for. Not everyone is born into a priviledged life and those who are not are the ones who need us the most.

Our military may not be the elixir for all the problems in the world, but hope has a fortune of it's own. We're the one stable presence in an ever-changing country; the one budding blossom in a garden filled with weeds. Our blossom may seem fragile at first, but soon it's petals will unfurl and bathe the garden with its beauty. So I ask you the question I was asked: Is there pride in serving in our military? For me, the answer is a resounding yes. By serving in our military you are pledging yourself to a greater good. Our soldiers help others help themselves. "Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself." - Desiderius Erasmus.



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