Recently, after my airline flight touched down, the attendant deviated from the normal landing remarks to thank our armed forces, both active and retired, for their sacrifices in the service of our country.
Since my husband is a retired army veteran, I appreciated her remarks. However, I did wonder about our ignorance of others who serve and sacrifice for our country. The week before, one of our ambassadors and three of his colleagues were killed in an uprising in a foreign country, yet this was not mentioned. Many of our diplomats serve today in countries where mob violence breaks out against the embassies and consulates where they are stationed. They send reports to our government in Washington that aid us in our foreign relations. They provide language skills, local knowledge, and other support when U.S. officials visit foreign countries. They serve American citizens with mundane tasks such as passport renewals but also carry out tasks like visiting Americans imprisoned in foreign jails.
Other Americans serve in less dramatic ways that we overlook: border patrol agents; scientists who test medicines to determine if they are safe to place on the market; air traffic controllers; forest rangers; customs agents who check shipments for dangerous material; clerks who check and file documents needed for evaluation of potential immigrants; those who process social security payments to senior citizens, to name a few. We forget about them, but they make our lives safer and more pleasant.
I have lived in and known countries where governments were not so sympathetic to their citizens’ needs, countries run by corrupt and sometimes dangerous leaders. Their jails are filled with prisoners who are guilty of no more than peaceful disagreement with their government. Others are imprisoned because they are of the wrong religion or ethnic group.
The freedom to complain about aspects of our government that we do not agree with is a precious gift. May we not take lightly that gift, and may we be ever thankful for those who provide the services that we depend on every day.