This is Veteran's Day, 2014, and Lord knows, there's plenty to worry about. Taxes are high and, for most, opportunities are low. We're adding jobs, but they're the kind of jobs that students and retirees are supposed to have- not working men and women. We live in a PC world, which stands for "politically correct," and I fear that it's the only thing some people stand for. Finally, I should add that I'm worried about computers. Yes, I know that they are your dearest friends, and I applaud their power to do and transform things... but please don't fall in love with them. Fall in love, instead, with girls, and sports teams, and the great outdoors. Fall in love with conversing, daring, doing, but never settle for the image of something... when you can experience the thing itself.
Boys, it's Veterans Day, 2014. We have just endured a nasty political campaign, and I'm feeling tired right now. As a preacher, I worry about our worship of "self and stuff," and I think that we live in a time when "right is being called wrong," and "wrong is being called right." Things seem to be a little crazy to me...but I am also a proud and hopeful man... and I will always be... as long as freedom and love and courage abide. On this day we celebrate veterans- warriors of all sizes and shapes. We honor men and women who were willing to put service ahead of self. Some of them were eager to do so- some of them not so much. Some of them were fully supportive of the cause at hand- some not so much. Some of them fought hand-to-hand, some of them flew, some of them were at sea, some of them worked behind the lines, and some of them were stationed "at home." But they all served, and I applaud their service.
I applaud their sense of honor. I applaud their guts, and I cry over their tears. My father- your great and great-great grandfather- flew supplies to the battle lines in the European theater and liberated the prisoners in a concentration camp called, Auschwitz. He lost several friends in that war, including his co-pilot, Kenny, after whom I am named, and although he was always "tough," he was never the same after the war. Two of my uncles, which means that they're your kin too, saw combat in the same war, and my brother, Larry, served proudly as well. They didn't believe the same things, or worship in the same ways, or root for the same teams, or vote for the same candidates... but each of them believed that freedom was worth fighting and even dying for. Just last week, on my way to a family gathering in Kansas City, I stopped at the Ohio Cemetery in Ladora, Iowa to pay tribute to our relatives. In many ways, it is a family cemetery, and right away I saw large tombstones belonging to the Rosenbergers, the Schalls, and the Slaymakers. These are some of our people, boys. I saw a small marker for "Elizabeth Jane, mother," and I knew it was Elizabeth Jane Shedenhelm. Then, I looked up and saw a large monument for J.N. Shedenhelm, born 1836, and I smiled because I knew that he fought bravely in our Civil War- as did many of your relatives on the other side of that terrible war.
Boys, there are many things that need to be changed in this world, but I want you to know that this land of ours was founded on God, freedom, and opportunity. As you go through life, I hope that you will always be as loving as you are now. Be graceful, not rude, and always speak and enact the truth in love... where the words "truth" and "love" both count. Be good and generous men... but always remember that important things are worth fighting for. Remember, too, that your own ancestors took their stand as far back as Colonial America, and that you come from a proud heritage that includes both courage and grace. Donald, when all of this makes sense to you, give your daddy and hug... because he also took his stand and fought for freedoms that we enjoy!
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