Sacrifice

Some of my friends talk to me about sacrifice. They don't open with that word, but it is at the heart of their rant. It seems our generation feels as if we are owed something, and you see this on the faces of older generations and as creative fodder for films. It's even so cliche that we have the "I hiked 15 miles in the snow--uphill" speech.

But what do my fellow young Americans really know of sacrifice? (We have friends and family serving overseas, so do not let me discount that sacrifice.) We are largely removed from what is happening outside our small, immediate world. My hasty generalization is that we choose to turn a deaf ear or a blind eye to what is happening overseas and in the world because it is a downer. It's not as hip to talk about war, policy, abandoment, persecution and human rights as it is to talk about reality television, fashion, and celeb gossip. At least, not in every social circle. Perhaps the media is to blame for not reporting on it. But that is a chicken-or-the-egg conversation: do they not report or do we not listen and thereby cause them not to report on it?

When I sat down with my Montagnard and Special Forces friends, the sacrifice did not immediately come pouring out. It took time for them to talk about it. Just as a well respected man is not boastful, these real American heroes are slow to show you their pain. Because it is very real. And still very present.