Saturday, May 24, 2008

Memorial Day Weekend

Yesterday I went up to The University and found it virtually deserted. I had forgotten it was Friday before Memorial Day! I got what work I could do without other people done, then met with our IV-E students in Lewisville in the afternoon. The Texan and I went out for a drink and dinner early in the evening at one of our new favorite places. Such a nice, relaxed start to the weekend for us.

Today I am struck once again by the fact that I am the proud daughter, sister, wife, and mother of US war veterans. I still hate all the wars from Viet Nam on, as I watch my country become the "enforcer" of the world. And the fact is that I am enormously proud of my family who were willing to serve their country. I am even the daughter-in-law of a World War I veteran, as the Texan's father earned his US citizenship by serving as a Canadian citizen in the US Army. Nobody in the family has ever been career military but always citizen soldiers. I truly believe that war and killing are the most animalistic parts of the human race. And yet...
sometimes one has to defend our people and land from aggressors or be annihilated by them. I have never been able to reconcile Christ's teachings completely on anything other than a personal level. I continue to struggle with defending our country with "turning the other cheek."

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