How do we bring about real change?

Many of us talk about how the future would be. How it would be prosperous and beneficial through different changes. In fact, it might be a relatively easy task to imagine about bright changes that can be brought to our society. Of course, new technology and numerous social changes – being inclusive and caring for each other – would undoubtedly make this world into a warmer place. However, I elect to talk about something gloomy. A way of thinking which we are tempted to consciously neglect about. It is about how we treat those who have sacrificed.

Unfortunately, bloody conflicts and war was always a constant topic which followed human history. An irony is that though we are well aware of the fact that history tends to repeat itself, we are yet brought into the same vicious cycle of war. Who would have ever imagined that a full-scale warfare between nations would erupt in midst of a global health crisis?

People often say that the world we live in nowadays is odd. From a planet wide health disaster to full scale war between large nations, the events that we witness has become much extreme and significant. People often lament that we are losing humanity.

But I ask this, ‘What is humanity?’

Reflecting upon the lessons that I have learned from history books, there was no era in human history that humanity was refined and peaceful than nowadays. As if it is a fixed rule, humanity engaged in large scale wars for every half a century, and it is an unfortunate fact that major highlights of human history often develop upon wars and bloody conflicts.

Then I direct my question to a different direction, ‘How are we able to maintain humanity?’

There could be many propositions to prevent wars from happening, but I argue that the solution may not have to be made out of a blank paper neither it should be that much creative. In fact, we already know the answer. It is about those who have sacrificed for one’s nation. The reason why we should look back to our veterans is more than a humanitarian cause. They are the living witness of one of the deadliest incidents that we could ever see. They are the ones who can teach us what it is about war and why we should we endeavor to stop the next one from endangering our lives. 

Veterans are the guardians of humanity that made possible the world that we live in. Despite the optimism, I hold a firm ground that humanity has never sustained itself solely through amicable sentiments. It required constant sacrifice by the braves to ensure the peaceful life of others. There are many forms of sufferings and sacrifices which one could endure in life. For the love of family and loved ones, we ourselves would most likely have or would likely to make sacrifices in life. However, it would not likely be the case if it was for the wellbeing of those that we do not know of. Making sacrifices for those that we have not even met or not likely to make any shallow form of relationship in the rest of our life, that is the sacrifice that veterans endured.

A Navy Admiral once said in a college graduation ceremony: if you want to change the world, make your own beds first. I argue a similar point, if we want to change the world and to progress, look back on our own track of history and see what we have been neglecting. Critically examining our own past and taking care of those neglected is the priority of nowadays society.

If one asks me how important veterans are, without second glance I would stress that it is beyond comprehension. Veterans are important not only for their contributions they have made but also for the message that they resonate to our society through their very existence.

Especially, when we look into our own history books in America, we engaged in a series of forgotten wars. For the fact that those wars took place thousands of miles away from home, wars such as the Korean War and Vietnam War is often neglected of its significance. It also comes to my attention whether we are providing those heroes a decent treatment back home. Unfortunately, it seems that there is still a long way to go. Though there must be more to be provided through regulations and politics, I would like to focus on the way we look at the veterans near us. It seems that especially, the young generation near me do not understand the contribution and the sacrifices that the veterans have made for us. It is a sad phenomenon. When we see the veterans near us wearing their caps with their contributions inscribed and their vests with their honorable medals, we should not simply pass by them. We should be appreciating at least for five seconds that the day we enjoy, the fresh air that we breathe, the precious moments that we share with our loved ones are made possible by them. It is a cruel fact that such a contribution is not adequately recognized, but at least we should not be the ones to blindly become another individual sharing such a sentiment.

Reflecting upon how veterans have changed our society, we could once again be humble. During the ten years of Vietnam War, while a vile and deadly killing was taking place on one side of the globe, on the other side, people were drenched in enjoyment of life and happiness. Had it not been for those who fought the war, telling their stories in the warzone. Had it not been for them, this society or perhaps the world could have lived in a sense of obliviation. Where people become prone to living in a condition where they do not know of dangers of war, there could be higher chances of more war taking place. In such sense, the message that veterans send us through their very existence is a costly one, and a message that we cannot and should not forget. In such sense, if we want to change the world into a better place, we should learn how to prevent the sins that human race has continuously perpetrated. The first step of prevention, or perhaps the first step for a change, is to look back at those who sacrificed, and listen to their message.