On flags…

Josh was expressing disappointment about the flag policy over the phone this weekend. And here’s what a soldier in Afghanistan has to say about the matter.

I am not one to say we shouldn’t mourn the loss of lives at Virginia Tech, but we do have misplaced priorities on heroism. The issue, I have found, is not that soldiers want the same respect as everyone else, rather, everyone else wants the same respect due soldiers (I’m using the generic term of soldiers, even though the same applies to Marines, Airmen, Seamen, and the Coast Guard.)

People may argue that “well, people volunteer to go to war.” The difference between the two is: people do not volunteer to go to war in the same manner one volunteers to go to college. One goes off to war because one believes a cause worth dying for. One goes off to college in hopes of economic benefit. The death of military personnel is far more heroic then the death of the victims at Virginia Tech, and at a minimum deserves the same honors bestowed upon these men and women.

The shootings at Virginia Tech were indeed tragic. And I mean absolutely no insult to them or their families. However, this is an example of how we as a society need to do better in honoring our servants and we as a society should not demand the same treatment as people who are indeed better people then civilians could hope to be.