A local soldier died in Afghanistan.
Yes, he's one of many.
No, we didn't know him personally.
I will be taking my children out tomorrow afternoon to stand on the street and wave the American Flag while his funeral procession drives by on the way from the church service to the cemetary. Why?
Because when I told my daughter that a soldier from our town died fighting a war for our country she said, "So, people die all the time."
I was speechless. They don't get it - the children, my children, our nation's children. They don't get that war is bad, that people die, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, cousins... they die to protect us. It doesn't matter if you are for or against any political agenda, the fact remains: people die.
I want my children to "get it". I want them to understand that there are total strangers that sacrifice their lives so that we are free. They get to go to movies and parties and travel... because men and women put themselves in front of us. In front of me, in front of them.
My kids get to have a public education. They get to grow up to vote for whoever they want to. They get to decide what clothes to wear, what food to eat, who their friends are and what religion to practice. They have a choice.
I have a choice. I am choosing to stand on a street corner tomorrow so that my kids will "get it". I know they will... and I know it's the right thing to do.
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