Monday, May 28, 2012

Memorial Day Thoughts on Honor and Duty


By Jack Hunter

Today we remember those who gave their lives serving our country.

We must always remember that while it is the soldier’s job to do his or her duty, it is the citizen’s job to make sure that when our government decides to put our soldiers in harm’s way, it is for a good reason. Our leaders must be held accountable for their decisions, good and bad–not simply given carte blanche on foreign policy.

Without fail, America’s soldiers have always done their duty. Today, we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for this country.

We, on the other hand, regular citizens, have done a poor job in holding our leaders accountable for bad decisions in our foreign policy. Many Iraq and Afghanistan veterans now think those wars were not worth it. We need to listen to our veterans. They deserve better, particularly given what we ask of them.

The same government that conservatives rightly recognize as being too inept and incompetent to do much good here at home is the same government that regularly makes life and death decisions for our troops abroad.

A soldier can never go wrong in doing what his or her country asks of them. That is their duty. Citizens can never go wrong in questioning their government too much. That is our duty.

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