Why I Will Pray on Veterans Day

I've been asked to pray at Sanibel's official Veteran's Day ceremony this year.  I have done it before and have agreed to do it again.  Not because I am a supporter of armed interventions or war.  But rather because I am a supporter of veterans., which to some may seem an odd thing for a pacifist like myself to say.  So let me explain.

First and foremost I respect the fact that veterans have sacrificed their individual interests in support of the larger good.  To be willing to rise above one's own particular needs or interests in support of something greater than oneself is admirable.  Would that more of us were willing to do that.  So many of today's problems, ranging from pandemics to climate change, could be more effectively dealt with if we approached them in a selfless and united manner.  Veterans have shown us how that can be done.

Secondly, I find it appalling that we have asked men and women to sacrifice a portion of their lives, to even risk their lives, and then have left them without the support they need to reintegrate into society and recover from their physical, emotional and spiritual injuries.  That so many vets are homeless, struggling with PSTD, coping with various addictions, is just plain unacceptable.  We have asked them to serve on our behalf and come to our aid--we must come to their aid when they need our help.

So it is that I will pray. I will offer words of gratitude for the selflessness of veterans.  I will pray for those who are sick and injured that we might help bring them healing and hope.  I will pray for those who grieve the losses war inflicts.  I will pray in the hopes that a day will come when there will be no
more need for people to become veterans.  And I will pray for peace.