Duty to Serve

I was talking to my dad about the War, and he compared it to Vietnam. That got me thinking. We have the right to disagree with the government, what they do, what they say, but when it all boils down, we are American citizens and are required to fight for our country. That's it. Hands down. No questions asked. No running to Canada.

Later that week, one of my friends was dissing the war in Iraq, saying that he thinks we never should have gone, and that our country is retarded. It sent a pang of guilt through my heart. Normally I would have agreed, but that conversation with my dad was still ringing in my head. I did some more thinking and finally figured it out.

Protesting the war is acceptable. Disliking the president is acceptable. Hating the government is acceptable. Insulting the country is not. Because as wars, presidents, and cabinet members come and go, the country is forever. Being an American isn't something that we can just shrug off. We enjoy so many personal freedoms, and if the time comes when our country desperately, can't live without us, really really really needs us, we all have to square our shoulders and go. We have the right to protest. We have the duty to serve.