Patriots we leave out

When the World Series opens in October, alas I fear without our Cincinnati Reds, there is likely to be an honor guard of men and women from the various branches of the military carrying flags and banners. In all likelihood there will be a flyover of jets from the Air Force. When we have national or patriotic observances we tend to turn them into celebrations of the contributions of the military to our freedom and liberty. On Independence Day everyone from Baseball commentators to public radio news commentators talked mainly about the “ultimate sacrifice” made by our soldiers and sailors and airmen. Even the National Day of Prayer seems to have become a mini-Memorial Day

This trend is understandable when the nation is at war. We pray for the safety of our military personnel even when many of us find this particular war to be a terrible mistake. We are avoiding the error we made in the Viet Nam war when we blamed the men and women who fought the war. Thank God, we are not doing that to our Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.

It takes only a moment to realize that there are others who deserve credit for America’s Independence, freedom and liberty . Let’s remember the men who drafted the Declaration of Independence and the lawyers and judges who wrote and defend the laws that protect our freedom. Americans have a rather low view of both lawyers and politicians. Every lawyer I have known personally is a good citizen who works as selfishly as anyone else. While there are some unscrupulous and intolerant politicians the vast majority of Republicans and Democrats alike are God fearing patriots who deserve our thanks.

What about honoring teachers who generation after generation have taught our children about the rule of law, the virtue of compromise, the duty of citizens. On the Fourth of July I would like nothing better than to remember some of my teachers who helped not just me but thousands of other kids learn to be good citizens.

At the moment we are at odds about what to do with the millions of immigrants to our country who have arrived without official papers. Immigrants, legal and illegal, have come to these shores seeking and preserving freedom. My forebears came from England, Germany, Holland probably a few other places I don’t know about. They helped make America free.

Then there are the bus drivers, computer technicians, factory workers, clerks and many more, who by their way of living helped preserve American values. On Independence Day would it not also be good to laud those who year after year learn about the candidates and issues and vote.

The men and women who serve in the military, who die and kill for our country, deserve our thanks and honor. They are not the only heroes and perhaps not the most important.

At this year’s World Series opening and next year’s July Fourth parade there could be an honor guard made up of public school teachers, telephone repairmen and plumbers. Perhaps we could organize some factory workers, office clerks and employees at “big box” stores to parachute onto the playing field!

America is a great and wonderful country made up of many different sorts of people doing a multitude of things. Let’s celebrate the gifts we all bring.