Within Danger's Reach

You cannot live in America and not know that we have service men and women that are still in harms way at this very moment. I hope that we can all reach a common ground and support them and their families.

I am not saying that I am anti war or in support of the war. All I am saying is that I think we need to stand behind our service men and women...Support them and their families in this time of stress, worry, and grief.

Although I have had family members in all four branches of the military (three grandfathers Air Force, Marines, and Army respectively, and an uncle in the Navy), I can't fully understand what those closest to the soldiers are going through. I can only imagine. They were in active duty long before I knew what the purpose of military was, and it was mostly peace time. It has, however hit close to home. My own cousin has spent time in Iraq, and thankfully, he made it home without being injured. Just last week, a friend of ours was deployed, and is planning on being gone on an 18 month mission. His wife is left home...alone. They have no children yet, and have just bought a house. Speaking with her today, she expressed that it had been a rough few days, and she has many more ahead of her.

So here is what I am proposing. Let's put all of the politics behind. We should be joining together as one country. Whether we like it or not, we have thousands of our own over seas, working hard to make this world a safer place. They joined their particular branches of the military for their own reasons, and they all knew that there was a possibility of heading to war within their lifetime. Now it is up to us to show them that we haven't forgotten about them.

No matter where you stand in the debate of war and foreign policy, it is time to lay it aside. Our men and women are in harms way. Fighting over decisions made by the government, good or bad, isn't changing a thing. Let our men and women know that we are thinking of them. Tell them that we are proud of them. And when they come home, shake their hand, hug them, pat them on the back. They deserve all the support and praise possible. They have put themselves in harms way so that we can continue to live with the luxuries we have today. Don't take them for granted!

Pray for peace! Pray for our soldiers! Pray for our country!