# 113
Memorial Day 2012
IN DEFENSE OF COMMON SENSE
By Hetty Gray
The radio airs program after program today, all focused on the memory of the fallen — those who gave their very lives that America remain free and we sleep safely in our beds at night, unthreatened by war on our own soil.
My parents instilled in me a great reverence for the soldier. I use the term generically and mean for it to describe every person, man or woman, who serves in the name of our beautiful country.
Few civilizations last more than a few hundred years, and I worry that our way of life and our peace and tranquility are on the line unless we step up to the plate and recognize the Islamic threat for what it is.
Not since the 1500s has the world seen an influx of Muslims into other countries in a push to change societies at their core.
Today, thousands of our brave men and women toe the line in far-flung places where zealots kill in the name of their diety in deference to any form of law or decency.
To those who have given their lives in this cause, we pay homage. We cringe at the thoughts of what they might have seen or suffered in their last moments. We pray for their surviving loved ones and hope that healing comes over time.
We are a good people. We give more of ourselves than any other nation on earth. When our armed service members remain in a foreign land for decades, the native inhabitants are thankful for their presence and worry for their safety should their defenders leave.
God bless this nation and its servicemen and women. They take on a burden few of us would assume, and they do it for each and every one of us.
To take one day out for remembrance is important, but more important is a sense of support and respect for them every day of the year.
Happy Memorial Day. Amid the barbeques, the picnics and the leisurely walks with small children in tow, remember that you walk free because other walked a far harder road.