Semper Veterans

If "war is a violent teacher" (Thucydides, 460-394 BC), then a Veteran is a wise one. Naturally, the quote attributed to Heraclitus: "Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn't even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back" can be paraphrased to describe also modern "warrior society". Careerists definitely shouldn't be here, static or dynamic blue falcons can be useful only as range targets, but we are blessed to have many genuine heroes: our true defenders. As for "the one", the warrior who will bring the others back—if you met one, your life has never been the same. Wherever you were—lost in foolhardiness or despair, he brought you back to the core of virtue, on the life's real battlefield where the only true winner is the integrity of a fighting soul. 

Should you, like Roman historian Tacitus (55-120 AD) become a witness to violent times where "They plunder, they slaughter, and they steal: this they falsely name Empire, and where they make a wasteland, they call it peace", and should you look for a reason to believe in the greatness of your country and in victory—he, "the warrior who will bring others back" will be the reason. Your parent, your kid, your teacher, your friend is the reason. Even if Veterans are sometimes called "silent heroes" due to their humble attitude to sacrifice, you don't hear them  or anything about them only because the mainstream media is too busy promoting gutless wonders and has "no time or space" for Stars and Stripes' superstars. There's only one way to care about Veterans: to honor the dead, and to fight for the rights of the living. Incidentally- the mainstream media, VA's ticks and a variety of political ingrates who suffer from Veteran term-amnesia, go through the motions of coming out of integrity coma only twice a year: on the last Monday in May and on the  11^th of November. Well, some can call it "an armistice" in their agenda, but we honor our fallen and fight for our living ones every day, and we are here to stay. Happy Veterans Day—EVERY day to "the one, who is the warrior and who will bring the others back": to the one who's battled multiple cancers and never stopped to fight for justice for fellow Agent Orange affected Veterans; to the one who has always been walking the thin line between the truth and unemployment—tirelessly fighting for our freedom and values; to the one who risked his freedom to defend Old Glory and our homeless Veterans, to the one who is homeless and who has never stopped to fight , and to all of you-always ready to risk life and limb—you are the country's greatest treasure: the ones who instil valor, pride and victory. Don't be late to celebrate Veterans Day every day, America. Honor your Veterans, because only they will always spell Machiavelli's quote to the most "Machiavellian" enemy: "Wars begin when you will, but they do not end when you please".