Happy Veterans Day

Not too many folks say Happy Veterans Day. We say Happy Thanksgiving and Happy July 4th, but not Happy Veterans Day. Presumably, it’s because the phrase is too light-hearted.

Happy veterans? When we think of the group of Americans called veterans, maybe the word “happy” isn’t the first description that comes to mind. Solemn. Quiet. Reserved. Humble. Those more readily define a war-hardened veteran and the day set aside to honor them.

Veterans Day is a time to reflect on the acts and deaths of our soldiers. It’s also a time for our nation to bind together and remember that out of many, we are one. E pluribus unum, indeed.

But maybe the word happy should be part of Veterans Day. Maybe we are all happy today because of the efforts and sacrifices of veterans. These vets gave up the familiarity and safety of home to serve their country. They came back home, some to rousing salutes and others to less-than-welcoming embraces, and we are happier today for their achievements in battle.

Hopefully, we won’t forget that. As the well-worn phrase reminds us, freedom isn’t free. And happiness is an illusion that can be swiped away at any time. Here’s to our veterans for keeping us happy and free.

Stupid stupor

Happiness may be illusive, but for many, it is a constant motivation. One source of this illusive happiness is drugs and alcohol. They can provide a few minutes of happiness, at least until you need the next fix.

Drug and alcohol abuse is an obvious and constant problem in our modern society. In a front-page story this week, we hear about a man who was seen stumbling down the middle of Route 302 in Casco carrying a pretty big bag of OxyContin. As the Three Dog Night song goes, “that ain’t the way to have fun, son.”

I can’t imagine what it must be like to take the risk of going to jail to get high. What are these folks thinking? Is that high so necessary that you’d risk jail time? That is truly mind numbing.

A lot of people are working to legalize marijuana, which is an unfortunate development in our happiness-driven society. Instances such as the Casco OxyContin bust point to the necessity of keeping all mind-altering drugs illegal, and therefore harder to obtain. Substance abuse is bad for society and here’s an example why:

In 1999, I was on the Appalachian Trail in Connecticut and a fellow hiker got bit by a rattlesnake. Another hiker and I had to hike alongside him to the nearest town to get our friend some help. On the descent, I was planning how I’d have to be aggressive in my hitchhiking technique because we were fighting the clock and out in the boonies with little passing traffic. That first vehicle would have to stop, I told myself. I would give the driver no other option.

After about an hour of hiking, we finally got to the road and almost immediately hitched a ride with a guy in a pick-up truck. When asking him for the ride, I could smell alcohol on his breath, but since we were in a desolate area, we had no choice but to take the ride. That ride was truly frightening. The guy was all over the road. We were all over the truck bed. I remember going through a covered bridge at what seemed about 40 miles per hour. Big bumps at both ends nearly knocked us out. The driver was hauling, oblivious to the hikers in the back hanging on for dear life.

Fortunately, after about 15 minutes of this torture, we made it to a store where we called for an ambulance.

Needless to say, I was furious with the drunk driver’s lack of caution on the road. It was a revelation, and at that point it struck me that drunkenness is the act of a selfish person. This man’s drunken antics were a good lesson to me that being a member of society means you may be asked to help someone in need at any time, so you better be ready. This guy thought he could go out into the woods, soak up a few beers, and no one would know or care. How wrong he was. Little did he know that he would soon be called upon to help someone that could have died without his help.

We live in community. We’re not alone. At any time, even in the comfort of our own homes – where we think we are safe from the cares of the world – we may be called upon to help someone. Let’s keep that in mind.

-John Balentine, editor