In Memoriam
Through the course of our history, and before, these United States have always had a force of warriors prepared to do the hard work of keeping our nation safe from aggressors. These brave men and women enter the service of our country replete in the knowledge of the sacrifice they may be asked to make. And as much as each fighter has been willing to trade their lives for the safety of their loved ones, so have their loved ones been willing to sacrifice the lives of their soldier, Marine, fighter to preserve the nation which that person loved. How many fathers and mothers and brothers and sisters have been left behind as their loved ones gave the final sacrifice?
We who remain cannot bring these people back. Each of the treasured few who raised their hands when the defense of our country was called for, each stepped up, and those who served are a multitude. From sexual orientation to skin color to cultures across the globe, the United States Armed Forces have been a mixing pot for the precise reason that when we are asked, American’s stand up. When we are asked, we do the right thing, regardless of what the cost is, whether it be our lives, or whether it be the reluctant willingness to provide our sons and daughters to the services. The United States military have seen all manner of people sign up and go off to war, and as we call out in the shared pain of having lost countless lives in battle, and so much more than lives on each foreign battlefield, it’s important that we remember who we are. And in some regards, that means introspection, and understanding, who we are not.
We are not a Christian nation. Our brothers and sisters who have served and continue to serve are vast and diverse. Only 73% of our active-duty brothers and sisters profess to be Christian. The rest are other religions than Christianity, with 3% reporting as atheist or agnostic.
We are not a “white” nation. Only 51% of our brothers and sisters who have served and continue to server are considered white. The remainder? It ranges. Ethnicities all over the world are currently serving on active duty in the military.
If we can’t use either of these, then who are we?
When I think about who we are as a nation, and who I signed up to defend, I’m reminded of two things: the United States Constitution that I swore to defend (not a person, not a position, not a job title), and the Star Spangled Banner. The Constitution defines our laws, but I can think of nothing better than the Star Spangled Banner to define our character.
O! say can you see by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?
And the Rockets' red glare, the Bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our Flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled Banner yet wave,
O'er the Land of the free and the home of the brave?-Francis Scott Key (modified)
When I read this, my first thought is of the English invading New York. I envision ships sitting off the port and firing cannons into the streets of the city. But when I think about our character, I have to take that extra step: what are we fighting for in this battle? And, have we won it yet?
The “land of the free” and the “home of the brave” —this is who we are. We are the free, but not free in the way that many sometimes think. I believe we are free of the fetters that chained nations of the past to strict and unchanging dogma. We are free to chart our own future, and to bring our people together to make the future that we see a reality. And in that freedom, there are choices we must make, and that we have made. These choices are us. These choices are our collective integrity, and our collective shame. It speaks well to our character that we have had a civil rights movement. It even speaks well to our character that finally, eventually, we had a civil war, and that we decided for ourselves to cast off the shackles of slavery from millions who lived here, even as we cast off the shackles from ourselves.
It speaks well of us that we brought the gift of agency to our people, all of our people. And it speaks well of our citizens that we use this gift of agency to decide our future together. And we have been brave enough to look into the abyss of our souls and the crimes of the past and lay them out before our people to judge ourselves. And it speaks well of us that we are willing to judge ourselves, and hold ourselves to a higher standard, even when it hurts. And it does hurt sometimes, doesn’t it?
While we do this…while we apply our freedom and our bravery to chart a new course in defiance of the chains of historical bigotry that we’re still working to cast off…our brothers and sisters at arms give us the breathing room to do so. We have the luxury of self-examination because our armed forces prevent others from becoming too involved. It’s a job that I promise from my own experience, most Americans don’t even see the half of.
This is the country I love and that I see: the brave and the free, toiling, sweating, and working fearlessly and non-stop toward a vision of acceptance and community. So to all those who have given their lives for this nation, and those who continue to put their lives in peril to its defense, I say this:
When you look back at us, the strife that we’re going through, and the disagreements we have, don’t be afraid. We are in the space that you have created for us, working out our differences, and the country that emerges when we’re through will be one step closer to that glorious vision of possibility.
All because of you. Thank you.
