Remembered...

Today is memorial day. I know it's an American holiday but I don't feel like stopping at all of the bravery and sacrifices that America has given but that all of the citizens of this world have given throughout history. Afterall, no war was won thanks to only one country-there might have been countries that were influential but if it was just left to one country it probably wouldn't have been won.
Living outside of the United States for a year and a half really opened my eyes to this fact. I'm American and I'm so proud of that fact, however, I don't think that I'm better than other people who live all around the world because of it, in fact I feel very fortunate and like it carries with it a certain responsibility. A responsibility to uphold freedom and human rights everywhere in the world whether their current form of government recognizes them or not. Notice in the Constitution it speaks of unalienable HUMAN rights. Notice it did not say AMERICAN rights but HUMAN rights-they are rights that all children of our Heavenly Father deserve despite where they happened to be geographically born-we're all from the same heavenly parents and THAT is why we try to help others around the world gain freedom etc. Does this mean that we are without fault or that certain people high up in the political scheme of things don't have their own selfish reasoning behind what they're doing etc? no. of course not, but I promise that the actual men who are fighting and dieing out on the field throughout the world do have the people's best interests at heart and they wouldn't be out there risking their own necks if it wasn't to defend those unalienable human rights.
I just hate how people can take their view of a single person/leader of a land and then superimpose that view onto all the (mostly innocent) individuals of that land. Sure, I understand it makes it easier to go to war with them then-just pretend they're all like their lil leader and you can put off that feeling of guilt but...it makes it really hard for people to believe that there are still a lot of good people out in the world. I believe that there are. I believe that for the most part-i mean no one is perfect and we all have our weaknesses and faults, but for the most part most people are decent and good and have a sense of moral conscience. Morality is in the majority.

We were talking at dinner about all of our different relatives/ancestors that fought in the different wars: WWI, WWII, Korean, Iraq etc. and I was thinking about how lucky we were (I guess i'm speaking of America/England other western european countries) because we actually had the freedom that we fought and died for-we got what we paid for i guess you could say. I mean...Russia...when I think of the actual people of Russia it just makes me want to cry. Can you imagine what it would have been like to go through and fight, die, and go through all of the horrors that these soldiers experienced, to "win" and then somehow not even receive the freedom that you should have "won". I mean, they're ravaged from war, lost so much, in this freakin' COLD country and then their government comes in and takes over and it's like they became the very thing that they were fighting-how terrible that must have been to all of those people who fought and died-i mean, seriously try to imagine it cause every time I get close to conceiving of what that must have been like I just want to cry.
I remember that when i was over there I could tell how proud the people were of WWII and the sacrifices that they made AND RIGHTLY SO- they lost upwards of 27 MILLION people! You can imagine how frustrating it must be to them when they hear us talk about how we won the war-now, obviously I'm proud of what America did and know that without our efforts/technology etc it might not have gone so well, but we were certainly not alone and I recognize that and so I'm grateful and am trying to remember ALL that fought for freedom.
I know government is important and necessary and when properly run can leave the citizens better off for it, but I try to not let it define how I view the citizens of those governments throughout the world.
anyway, just some thoughts that were brought about by a tasty BBQ dinner.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness..." (Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776).
Seriously, if you haven't read the Dec. of ind. and the constitution/bill of rights etc. go and google it and read it-it's amazing and so inspired-we kind of have to know what's written there to be able to know how to defend it.

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/