Take time to give meaning to Veterans Day
Edwin A. Locke from the Ayn Rand Institute
Issue date: 11/11/03 Section: Editorial
Irvine, Calif. (U-wire) - Veterans Day arouses three emotions in most Americans: solemnity because it celebrates the veterans who have defended our great country, sadness because so many have lost their lives in the process and pride because they have fought so well.
The supreme value that our veterans have fought and died for, with some tragic exceptions, from the American Revolution to the Civil War to two World Wars is freedom.
America is the country of freedom. We were the first to declare government exists to serve people; people do not exist to serve government. We were the first to proclaim all people are equal before the law. We were the first to say each individual has inalienable rights - the right to life, liberty, property and the pursuit of his happiness.
There is no more precious possession than one's own life. But without political freedom, human life is empty. People cannot exist in any meaningful sense as slaves. The New Hampshire motto says it perfectly, "Live free or die."
Because human life is so precious, war should never be undertaken unless our rights are threatened.
It is often said our soldiers must sacrifice themselves for our country. This is precisely what we must not ask them to do. A sacrifice entails the surrender of a greater value for a lesser one.
But if a man risks his life on the premise, "I would rather die than live in slavery," it is a tragic loss - but it is not a sacrifice. Such a man is acting in his own interests, to protect his most precious values.
On the other hand, it is a sacrifice to send our soldiers to a country that has no connection to their interests and values. An example is Somalia. Many brave American soldiers died there - for what? To supply food to warlords who were perpetually seeking to kill one another.
Vietnam is another example of a senseless, self-sacrificial tragedy. While it was in our interest to oppose the Communist threat to America, it did not benefit Americans to throw away their lives in defense of a primitive nation whose people did not value freedom.
The supreme value that our veterans have fought and died for, with some tragic exceptions, from the American Revolution to the Civil War to two World Wars is freedom.
America is the country of freedom. We were the first to declare government exists to serve people; people do not exist to serve government. We were the first to proclaim all people are equal before the law. We were the first to say each individual has inalienable rights - the right to life, liberty, property and the pursuit of his happiness.
There is no more precious possession than one's own life. But without political freedom, human life is empty. People cannot exist in any meaningful sense as slaves. The New Hampshire motto says it perfectly, "Live free or die."
Because human life is so precious, war should never be undertaken unless our rights are threatened.
It is often said our soldiers must sacrifice themselves for our country. This is precisely what we must not ask them to do. A sacrifice entails the surrender of a greater value for a lesser one.
But if a man risks his life on the premise, "I would rather die than live in slavery," it is a tragic loss - but it is not a sacrifice. Such a man is acting in his own interests, to protect his most precious values.
On the other hand, it is a sacrifice to send our soldiers to a country that has no connection to their interests and values. An example is Somalia. Many brave American soldiers died there - for what? To supply food to warlords who were perpetually seeking to kill one another.
Vietnam is another example of a senseless, self-sacrificial tragedy. While it was in our interest to oppose the Communist threat to America, it did not benefit Americans to throw away their lives in defense of a primitive nation whose people did not value freedom.
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