One of the most profound sacrifices someone can make is the exchange of his life for his principles. This Veterans’ Day weekend, we ought to remember those soldiers who made this exchange, considering not just their deaths with the depth of our humanity but their principles with the scope of our intellect.
I can think of few things that would make me sadder than to believe that my sister or my grandfather or my uncle died on the battlefield in vain. Even ignoble wars of chicanery and deceit can have noble purposes if the legacy of those who fell lives on in our minds and our heart. To "never forget" means more to me than harboring a hostility towards America’s enemies and the world's evildoers. It means harboring a hostility towards the errors of America's past.
Veterans remind us not only that our freedom and ways of life are costly but also that our convictions are not infallible. If we want to honor our veterans, then we owe them reverence deeper and richer than magnetic ribbons and robotic patriotism. We owe them the solemn oath that though we will look to our past with pride, we will also look to our future with an unrelenting, dogged skepticism, careful not repeat or to reenact or to glorify the legacy of our follies or the price of their sacrifice.
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