Born to Serve

While waiting to fly out of a tiny little airport in Montgomery, Alabama last week I met a young military wife who, after we discussed military, politics, and religion proceeded to ask me why I was so patriotic? I wasn’t able to give a very good answer having never really considered the question myself. Why have I always had such a passion to serve our troops and their families? Until recently I never had a relative or even a friend in the service, and didn’t even meet a soldier until 2004. My family never really stressed patriotism and I was never a member or part of patriotic organization or activity. So, really, how does one become “patriotic”?

When I was younger I always marveled at the wars in history; at the men who fought it, the people who endured it, and the messages of unity and support it evoked on the home front. I was greatly inspired by the things that I read and heard as a child, and in comparing Americans in history to those in the present I felt that true pride and patriotism had rather become a thing of the past.

I loved the openness and tremendous active support I saw in those on the home front during World War 2, when the outrage and sense of justice towards the attack at Pearl Harbor overshadowed any doubts or thoughts of “peace”. There truly was unity in the hearts of the people as all America first felt pain, then a sense of duty, and then a certain measure of determination towards a cause that no one questioned; however great the sacrifices. I felt such a pain for and longing to comfort the degraded and discouraged men coming home from the Vietnam War, as young men came back from battle to face a dramatic change in American culture; a change that has no doubt greatly affected the resolve and vision of a once very determined, passionate nation.

So I have been greatly inspired as I learn about the true founders, leaders and protectors of America, and in this way I believe I have gained a clear vision of what patriotism really is (in a nutshell); sacrifice. I believe the history lessons now being distorted by our public education system have greatly hindered this generation’s ability to truly love and feel a sense of duty toward our nation. I am so blessed to have parents who provided me with an education that opened my eyes to the genuine patriotism displayed by those who have gone before us.

There was also a time in my childhood when I was convinced military service was for me. The camaraderie, honor and vision I observed in service members really left an impression on me, and for a time I so very badly wanted to be a part of it (I was so mad to find that the WACS and WAVES had been discontinued!). In reading books and observing the selfless lives of soldiers, I really came to admire their sacrifice and hard work (that often goes unnoticed, though they continue to work without complaint). What I felt had been lost on the average American I found in the lives of patriotic service members and their families. No one knows the meaning of patriotism more clearly than they do.

So I do really have to accredit my education in providing the grounds for my vision of being “patriotic” and supportive of the things I consider in the right for our nation. I also believe that I would not be so passionate about certain things in our country if it were not for the horrendous evils and fallacies being spread across this land. Daily our Christian heritage is mocked by the sickening acts of abortion, the misled homosexual marriages, not to mention the weak ideas of “peace” while terrorists plot ways to obliterate the “Christian” nation. It would be too easy to be a patriot in name only if one did not have working enemies; something to fight against. But here we are, provided with every opportunity to be a patriot and stand fast to the truths we claim to uphold. How can we call ourselves good Americans if we do not lift the sword and battle to protect our nation?

There are plenty of “patriotic” people in the United States. But the numbers of those who are willing to live out their patriotism in sacrifice and service are painfully low. You can find the majority of those people in uniform, daily living a legacy so often overlooked. May God have mercy on those of us allow Satan to take control in our nation! May He give strength, wisdom, and perseverance to those who only by His grace and power wield the sword in faith.