Dear Reader,

In the United States, it’s a common courtesy to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, to put your right hand over your heart and recite the words that you probably wouldn’t remember if the whole class wasn’t reciting them with you. However, this Veteran’s day, the Lightning Strike staff asks you to think about the message behind “I pledge allegiance to the flag, of the United States of America,” because we wouldn’t even be able to recite these phrases if it weren’t for the brave men and women who fought for our country and our people.

Our veterans fought through the swamps of Saigon, aimed their weapons in Normandy and declared our rights as people of a sovereign nation in the colonies that built this great nation. In 2014 there were more than a million veterans living in Florida, making them nearly 5 percent of our state’s total population. Yet, as the years pass, we have begun to see an exponential decrease in appreciation for veterans. Now all we see is mattress sales, zero percent down on used cars, buy one get one free hamburgers and you can’t forget about the lovely day off from school.

Veteran’s Day has become a meaningless celebration, when in fact there are so many people who deserve a great deal of recognition for serving our nation. We have become a society that is so used to taking privileges for granted that we can’t even understand why people volunteer to be part of our military or why we honor veterans. Being part of the military is an act of bravery and selflessness and those efforts are more than enough to praise. This Veteran’s Day remember our battles, our wins and our losses because they share one thing in common, our nation coming together with the protection of our soldiers to fight for a common cause. Soldiers vow to never leave anyone behind, so let’s make sure to do the same for our veterans.

Sincerely,
The Lightning Strike Staff