To our legislators , from Skidmore: About thanking our veterans...

I just received an very well-crafted e-mail from Leonard Boswell on the sanctity of Veteran's Day, the bills in front of the 110th Congress to improve the quality of life for our veterans, and an elaborate plea to join in thanking our veterans for our freedom. Let me begin by saying that I respect veterans. I am the daughter, sister, niece, aunt, cousin, and grandchild of veterans on both sides of the family.

I strongly support the efforts in front of the Congress to improve the quality of life for those who have served this nation in the military. This week we were confronted with the sad statistic that 25% of the homes are veterans. More recently we have begun to finally see pictures on the internet of some of the horribly catastrophic injuries suffered by our troops in the current war. That we would even need Congress to consider a bill entitled the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act should be considered shameful and not a mark of distinction for legislators. The circumstances that confront our veterans are not some non sequiter to the work of Congress, rather they are a direct result of the mish mash of political posturing and chest-thumping we have witnessed from armchair warriors who confuse the pen with the sword.

A better way to honor our veterans is to understand that the lessons of the wars they have fought is not to revel in the glory of military might or use their service as an excuse to beat the war drums and rattle sabers. Rather, it is to learn the value of the tools of peace, diplomacy, mutual respect for sovereignty, and leadership by example. The best way to honor our veterans is to seek to create a world in which there are no fallen heroes, no ultimate sacrifices, no veterans.

Leaders of this nation are missing a vision of a world at peace and the desire to create one. The rhetoric of military pomp rings hollow in the halls of power when uttered by those who cannot hear beyond the jingo of the moment, the slogan of the hour, and the battle of the day, the election of the year. I would encourage Mr. Boswell and his colleagues to harken to that singular note sounding peace that has soared above the rumblings of the wardrummers throughout the ages. A note that begs to be heard by generations to come. Surely, a better legacy than this cannot be built for the generations we will leave behind us.

Mr. Boswell, please start talking to me about how you would work to create a world at peace in honor of our veterans.