Hispanic army. (History.Army.Mil)
This year, I am twenty three years old. That means I’ve finally been alive for as long as my father served in the Army. It’s hard for me to imagine doing anything that long, much less being involved in the business of war. People think of the physical challenge of the military: boot camp, long marches with fifty pound rucksacks and, for a few soldiers, actual combat. I don’t want to downplay the physical toll, but it’s harder on the soul.
I went to visit my father in Dallas last fall. We’re at the point in our relationship where we’re starting to have “man to man” conversations. He’s not trying to impart wisdom, he’s just talking about things he wouldn’t have before because we finally have some common experiences. One morning we went to Waffle House for breakfast and he started talking to me about his time in the army. After a few stories of being stationed in Germany, Korea and Iraq in the first Gulf War he went silent.
He looked to the distance and I could see many untold stories still in his eyes.
“They can never pay us enough for what we did.”
The unusual thing about the military is that you can retire after twenty years, which means that a young man or woman who joins at eighteen years old could retire by thirty eight, still young enough for another career if you want it. After my father retired, he became a teacher.
It’s a profession whose nobility is not recognized nearly enough. We rightly thank soldiers sailors, airmen and marines for their service, and while teachers aren’t (usually) risking their lives, it is a selfless service as well. Both soldiers and teachers are of vital importance to the life of a nation.
Cesar E. Chavez. (Defense.Gov)
Your parents pass on the inheritance of your family, but teachers pass on the inheritance of an entire country. Unlike your family’s inheritance though, your American inheritance is not a birthright. Sure, we get to vote and have all the rights protected by the constitution, but to inherit the greater blessings of liberty, you have to be initiated into the “family” and teachers are the one’s who do that. They pass on the stories that define us: The War of Independence, the Civil Rights struggle. They tell us about the heroes: Thomas Jefferson and Cesar Chavez. In a nation of immigrants like ours, these are the stories and heroes that unite us as a people. They’re what make our country worth celebrating.
Independence Day just passed, and we thanked veterans, but now, we need to remember the teachers as well.
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