I rolled over this morning and thanked my atheist husband, who fought the
ground war in Iraq and suffers from Gulf War syndrome.   He doesn't worship
your fairy tale, and neither do I.

Then I called my mom, who served in the Army during Viet Nam, working at the
Pentagon.  Sure, she wasn't in combat, but she's a vet.  And she's fine with
my atheism.

Later today, I'll thank my father, the Viet Nam vet, who was wounded and has
lost all of his hearing in one ear, and part of his eye sight during the Tet
Offensive.  I'll ask him how the scars on his back are doing, because they
tend to itch in the summer. Before going to Viet Nam, he was an honor guard
at the Tomb of the Unknowns.  He's pretty protective of his atheist
daughter, but I'll be sure to tell him I'm searching for redeeming value.
We'll have a great laugh over that.

I'll give my Korean war vet Grandfather a call as well.  He wasn't wounded,
but I'll thank him for delaying college and enlisting to serve our country.
He's a fine man who loves me - ME - an atheist - very dearly.  Even at 70,
he'd spit on you for what you said.

I'm also calling my great, great aunt.  She's 90 now, but she was an officer
in the WAVs during WWII.  She's also quite understanding of my atheism for a
lifelong Methodist.  I'll be sure to tell her what you said, so she can
laugh at you as well.  She and I will talk about her cousin Talbot, who used
to bring her and her sisters flowers from his garden.  He was killed in
France in WWI.  Her main sadness in life is that she's never known where his
body is buried.  She talks about Talbot in a way that makes me think I knew
him, and I've done all the research I can and still can't find his grave.

When I'm done with my phone calls, my atheist Gulf War vet hubby can start
on his.  Yanno, not like an in theater vet, but a vet who's unit supported
the Rangers.  A medic who treated casualties and took fire.  He's going to
call his father, a Navy vet from Viet Nam.  His dad's pretty ok with our
atheism, too.  I think we'll give him your redeeming value comment to play
with.

Then we'll call one of his grandfathers, a highly decorated WWII Army vet.
He's disabled, of course, but he gets around.  It's amazing that he lived at
all, considering he was shot once through the thigh, and after that, because
he was mistaken for dead by the Germans due to his passing out from blood
loss, burned over 80 percent of his body.  He spent two years in the
hospital.  Oh, he's an atheist, too, I should mention.

Then we'll call the other grandfather, who spent his Army duty during WWII
in the Corp of Engineers.  Another Christian who's very loving and
protective of his atheist grandkids.

Saturday, I ordered flowers for my grandfather's grave.  A German immigrant
before the war, he served in WWII as a translator, and took fire in battle.
He often told me before he died how proud he was of me, a second generation
German-American, and how he was so glad he'd chosen America as a place to
live before the madness that was Hitler took over Germany.  Thank you,
Grandpa, I'm proud, too.  I'm proud that you chose this country, where I
have the freedom to worship or not as I will.  I'm proud that you came here,
worked hard, built a good life, fought for this country when asked, and when
you died, you died an American citizen.

After being turned down myself for service due to asthma, I volunteered
during the Gulf War at a local military base, shuttling the husbands and
wives of service members departing and returning to the airport.  I was a
source of comfort to them and their families, and I keep track of some of
them to this day.  No, I'm not a vet, and Memorial day is not about me, but
I understand what families go through, having been through it myself.  I
thank those like me, those who were in the USO during WWII and Viet Nam, who
gave comfort and laughter to our Vets, those who supported the war effort in
any way possible.  Those who tied yellow ribbons on trees during the Gulf
War. I thank you all.

Since I don't despise fairy tales, your comment does not apply.  However,
I'll be sure to pass it along to the Veterans I thank today.  The ones that
have died, I will honor, as I do on Memorial Day every year.   I'm glad I
live in a country where I can chose to worship or not as I will.  If it's
your desire to make it into a place where I am forced to worship, then it is
YOU, not I, that has no redeeming value.  It is YOU who would dishonor these
vets, and all vets, who fought so bravely to defend us when called.   It is
YOU who would make America into a version of Afghanistan or Hitler's
Germany.   So while I will thank those vets who sacrificed and remember
those died for the cause of freedom, I *spit* on *you*. I despise *you* and
all that you and your ilk stand for.  It is YOU who would remove the
freedoms that  made this country great, not I as an atheist.   You are
correct, better men and women than I have served this country, above you see
the list.  YOU should acknowledge your betters, too.  Somehow, I think you
won't do that.

Grace

--
"I'm not giving in to security under pressure, I'm not missing out on the
promise of adventure, I'm not giving up on implausible dreams, experience to
extremes, experience to extremes!"
Neil Peart - Rush - The Enemy Within
aa#1752 BAWAA!

Official EAC Vile Harridan and Deranged Harpy

"All the Husnak. Everywhere."
http://www.liquid-grace.com