With the new President elected and now sworn in, many people have been getting excited about the coming changes. The news has been overflowing with talk of the economy, of change, of Obama.
But I feel like we have forgotten one thing, and you may cringe when I say this, may write it off and close the page, may be sick of hearing about it after all these years. I, myself, am guilty of forgetting this, and so I am writing this not just to remind all of you, but to also remind myself.
Tonight I sat down to research an article I plan on writing about Rise Against and their active environmental/ political stances and lyrics. Like I usually do when I write about a band, I acquire a good portion of their music and set up a playlist on Itunes. As I was doing my research, Rise Against’s song Hero of War came on, and without shame I will admit tears sprang to my eyes. I thought of my friends who are over in Afghanistan right now, the ones who were injured over there and are still healing physically and emotionally, and most of all those I know who have died there. The lyrics, of course, discuss more than just a man going over seas to fight, and I’ll get to that another time, but it was the overall thought that forced me to pause.
Not all of us have been happy with the road our nation has taken the past decade. For a time, everywhere people fought over ending the war, or how the war was greatly needed. Either way, we all agreed on one thing; Support the troops.
With the crashing economy and the race and excitement/distress of the new Presidency, “support the troops” signs have become a thing of the past. The bloody battles of Falluja are over, but our friends and family members are still dying on the lines. We don’t hear about it much anymore, and many times like most news, we ignore it. Just a month ago my friend’s away message on AIM read “RIP Brother”, and I know it was one of his fellow marines.
So I ask all of you to take some time out of your day for our fellows over seas. Send a care package, write a letter or email, send pictures, or say a prayer. Personally, I am not religious, but I like to think throwing positive thoughts out there has some effect. I will try to follow my own advice.
If you would like to become more involved, there are many great websites where they hook you up with a soldier who is in need of support over seas. A fantastic one is called Soldiers Angel’s, and they ask you to send a care package to a soldier once a month. I understand that this can get taxing on finances, but I believe there are places you can just write letters to people.
“A hero of war, yeah that’s what I’ll be
And when I come home they’ll be damn proud of me
I’ll carry this flag to the grave if I must
Cause it’s the flag that I love and the flag that I trust”
-Rise Against “Hero of War”
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