Flags of our sons

Don’t miss this column by Billy Shore from today’s New York Times. Among other things it eloquently raises the issue of civic duty and martial sacrifice:

Except for a handful of us standing frozen at a respectful distance from the window, the war and its carnage might as well have been on another planet. The disconnect between those who serve and those of us who are beneficiaries of their service has always felt great to me, but never greater than at that moment.

The mom and dad stepped away from the man in the T-shirt and to another window, still not touching, their movement synchronized by grief. They waited until the marine in charge came back up from the runway to escort them to a government vehicle. I went to my car and drove to work with no ambition for the day other than to be worthy.

(Thanks to Kathryn Jean Lopez and RealClearPolitics.)

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