The other day I was explaining to my young daughter that things in her generation are vastly different than when I was her age. I explained that "back in the day" we didn't need TSA at airports. In fact, there wasn't much for security and you could basically just walk on a plane...with anything. People didn't ram planes into buildings or blow people up in airports. Things were...different then.
But she said, "But it's good that we have all this security and protection now, right?"
And I replied, "Well, no. It isn't. I'd rather be back in a time when we DIDN'T need these things because back then the world wasn't so violent. I'd rather do without the protection because we don't need it rather than having the protection because everyone wants to kill us."
I don't think she understood. Because unfortunately the world she exists in REQUIRES this protection. It REQUIRES a military. It REQUIRES going to great lengths for safety. And she's already used to it yet she's not even 8 years old.
Those of us who got a short (or longer) introduction from birth into a world that was much more innocent...we know what it was like to NOT have to have all of these "layers" needed to protect us. So, these times are particularly sad for us because we remember what that was like and we can compare it to how things are now. And it's only getting worse and will continue to do so until our life expires on this planet.
With that said, may today be the day that we honor those who signed up to take on this difficult job of protecting us from those who don't have our best interests at heart, against those who live and die to harm us. And gave up their lives in the process. For if it wasn't for these men and women, we wouldn't be able to enjoy our relatively safe, secure, and awesome lives that we have now.
THANK YOU!
~Monica Main
