As we engage in our light hearted look at the generation of “Peace and Love” let us not forget the roots of that era. With the current model of an all volunteer military, today, more than ever, we as a nation should place peace in its proper perspective. In his Lecture at Duke University (All-Volunteer Force) Delivered by Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, Durham, North Carolina, Wednesday, September 29, 2010, he candidly observed:
“Today, in airports all over the country, troops returning or leaving for Afghanistan or Iraq receive standing ovations from other passengers. Welcome home parades, letters and care-packages, free meals, drinks, and sports tickets &- all heartfelt signs of appreciation large and small that bridge the political divide. Veterans of our wars are also welcomed to campuses all across America as they return to school.
It is also true, however, that whatever their fond sentiments for men and women in uniform, for most Americans the wars remain an abstraction. A distant and unpleasant series of news items that does not affect them personally. “
“Give Peace a Chance” — Zeno W. Wicks III
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