Chronicle Editorial

Thanks, vets!

     Next Tuesday is Veterans Day; our country’s annual salute to the service men and women who’ve dedicated years of time and energy protecting our freedoms at home and abroad. Sometimes we take their sacrifices for granted, but Nov. 11 provides us with a special day to express our gratitude and thank a veteran.

     They’ve received a lot of attention in recent months. It’s an election year after all, and politicians love showing their support for military vets. Unfortunately, they became unwilling pawns throughout the campaign as candidates accused each other of being “bad for veterans.” We saw it in Iowa, and we saw it nationwide. It’s a downright shame veterans affairs have become so politicized over the years. Whatever happened to simply doing the right thing?

     Thankfully, we can toss aside the divisive rhetoric and move on now that election season is over. Veterans Day is one of the few holidays everyone can get behind. Their service benefited all of us, and we should show our appreciation for their sacrifice.

     We live in a world filled with parallels. There’s less war and bloodshed nowadays, but headlines scream about voilent conflict in some faraway part of the world nearly every week. We’re seeing that right now in Iraq, and we’ll no doubt see more of it in the future. It seems like we’re under a never-ending threat of war in the Middle East and that will only grow as groups like the Islamic State continue their bloody campaign throughout that region.

     Our veterans and current service men and women know this uncertainty first hand. Some have faced unimaginable circumstances during bloody conflicts like Vietnam and Iraq, while others served in Korea, World War II or elsewhere. Their willingness to fight for the United States is a commendable sacrifice not many of us could understand or try to understand. We can thank them, however, and that’s what Veterans Day is all about.

     Please take the time to attend a Veterans Day program next Tuesday. Their service to our country and its citizens is admirable, and they deserve our utmost respect and profound appreciation.

Moving forward

     With the mid-term elections now over and the campaign season behind us, our politicians can put aside the chest pounding and get back to work governing our country.

     It’s been a long election year filled with unachieveable promises and negative advertisements. Many folks probably never dreamed they’d be happy to see normal commercials return to the airwaves, and it’s no wonder a collective sigh of relief probably went up from the masses once Tuesday passed. This year was particularly ugly and the negative attacks seemed inescapable at times.

     With the election in the rearview, our politicians should now look towards solving actual problems in the next legislative session instead of tearing each other down piece by piece. Our country faces numerous hurdles as we look to the future, and it’d be wonderful if our elected officials would tackle them head on instead of sidestepping problems like normal. The phrase “I’ll work across the aisle” was used ad nauseam this year and it’d be nice if they followed through for once.

     Congress can move forward or continue sliding backwards. It’s all entirely up to our elected representatives, but if recent years are any indicator, Americans shouldn’t hold their breath.