In the twenty years that I had the privilege to serve Veterans, I can attest on the quality of people that composes our Armed Services.    Even while suffering permanent physical and/or mental impairments, they never backed down from their sense of duty and patriotic ideals.

In these times of a youth contaminated by a society that feeds on envy, class warfare, a sense of entitlement, and is patterned by self-indulgent behaviors, you see the transformation for the better on these young men and women following their joining our military.

After WWII, the ideals of right and wrong were clear, and support for the efforts and sacrifices of our soldiers widespread.    Society started to change after Vietnam, and the goals for going to combat became confused and fodder for political discussion.    This conflict exists still, and was manifested in the Iraq and Afghanistan’s wars.

What have not changed are the spirit, dedication and sacrifice of our brave military.    They are clear on their duty to leave their lives in the battlefield, if necessary, in order to defend the ideals of our country.    In these days, when we are about to commemorate their deaths in the Memorial Day tribute, we should remember why they gave so much for the rest of us.

To honor the fallen, we as individuals should take stock of what made our nation the greatest of the world and worth dying for.    We are living in changing times.    Changes and advancements in technologies and science, could mean a step forward, but only if it does not imply sacrificing our values.    What made the USA great and a magnet to others has to be remembered and defended.    Immigrants came looking for opportunity and liberty, and were received as part of our legacy.

The laws of the land were followed and it was clear that if you did not obey them, you were doing an illegal act.    Sacrifice was accepted, and responsibility for our future included education, health care and retirement plans.    We did not belong to low, middle and upper classes, only separated by being or not successful in achieving our aspirations and the ones that made it were admired and not reviled.    Goals were established by the individual, with support of the families, communities, churches and friends.    A central government was there as supporting the needs that were common to all, and our defense, not to dictate and lead us.    They responded as being part of us, not as they recently claim us being a part of them.

Entitlements were defined as opportunity to achieve, not guaranteed results.    A hand was extended to help someone, not to ask from others.    Nature was a source of pleasure, and a visual confirmation of the existence of a Creator.    When one admired our flag, we respected our national anthem for its symbolic value and not as a part of an act.     When we attended religious services, exercised our right to defend our properties with a gun, believed in God, and understood “you and I, and a baby means three” as a nuclear family of a man and a woman giving birth.     When choice was made before creating a life, not after to decide whether to destroy it.

When everyone including the physically and or mentally handicapped, the ones with different race or sexual orientation were assured of equality.     When these differences were accepted as God’s design but not promoted.     When we lived that way we considered ourselves a part of the American dream.    At present it seems that some of the new self proclaimed elite think that this behavior is strange, an example of ignorance, racism, intolerance, treason and a threat to the needs of the unfortunate.

At these times that our Constitution is considered obsolete, our forefather’s ideology denied, the idea of a God not credible, and we are told that everyone is entitled to all the necessities of life.    At these times when we are told that the ones that work harder are smarter and/or luckier than the rest have the obligation to support us.     At these times when those who lead us would like to take on responsibility for our lives, while being incompetent when assuming their functions, we have to wonder if our hero’s sacrifices were deserved.

I think not.    What they fought for, and gave all for, was to maintain what we had, the real dream, to better ourselves, but not to radically establish a different way of life and imitate a system of government that has failed elsewhere.    What better way to honor the fallen than to take stock of the path that we seem to be going through, and defend anyway possible a return to the ideas and values guaranteed in our Constitution and so brilliantly enunciated by our Forefathers.

Fernando J Milanes MD