11-11-24<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is significance that can be gleaned from punctuation and spelling which, as a Word Person, I am happy to assert as often as I can. It is true of missed dates and common misunderstandings, which have led to bloody wars. This message will be a rambling collection of tangents, forgive me; but little things in life are often consequential. We have the aphorism repeated from ancient days by Poor Richard (Benjamin Franklin):<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For want of a nail the horse<\/em>shoe<\/em><\/a> <\/em>was lost.<\/em>For want of a shoe the horse was lost.<\/em>For want of a horse the rider was lost.<\/em>For want of a rider the message was lost.<\/em>For want of a message the battle was lost.<\/em>For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n November 11 is Veterans Day, and I began these thoughts with notes about grammatical precision because it is important, if we are going to commemorate events and observe holidays, that we remember why we do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Veterans Day began as \u201cArmistice Day,\u201d dedicated to those who died in World War I. Strictly speaking, President Woodrow Wilson wanted to hallow the moment when peace was declared, more than honoring the millions who died to secure that peace. It was typical of that self-righteous megalomaniac to build a psychological edifice while \u2013 in the opinion of many people at the time \u2013 soldiers died on the battlefield while the clock ticked toward Wilson\u2019s \u201c11th<\/sup> day of the 11th<\/sup> month, 11th<\/sup> hour, 11th<\/sup> minute\u201d irrelevancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cArmistice Day\u201d eventually became Veterans Day. Word distinctions: Memorial Day was declared to honor those who died, Veterans Day to honor all who served in wars. And it is not \u201cVeteran\u2019s Day\u201d or \u201cVeterans\u2019 Day,\u201d so we remember all vets. A national holiday pf commemoration \u2013 in effect, our<\/em> day to honor them<\/em>, not their vacation day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do I make too much of these distinctions? Possibly. But I urge us to regard Veterans Day as a day where we all (we who are not military veterans) meditate on what others<\/em> have done; what our brothers and sisters have sacrificed; and the essence of becoming<\/em> a veteran. Yes, you can be a veteran of, say, an average golf match\u2026 but as we routinely understand the word, Veterans usually have gone through some version of hell. And, often enough, for you and me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So. I would have us appreciate, in others and in ourselves, what we go though in life ourselves, and should go through as our duty, the choice of work, service, and sacrifice. Such is Christ\u2019s call on us \u2013 to reach the world with Gospel, which is not easy. To reach our family and friends too, which might be less easy. To be<\/em> transformed by that Gospel ourselves; for some of us, that step was, or is, difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God helps us\u2026 Jesus is like a buddy in life\u2019s foxholes. And we see how He has helped others: To think, for instance, that He ordained a filthy-minded, adulterous, wealthy man with evil in his heart to preside over a nation\u2026 makes us think. Yet God did that\u2026 and that man, by God\u2019s grace, eventually did much good, and wrote the Psalms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, did you think I was talking about Donald Trump or someone else? No, I mean King David. We are all flawed. But we are all veterans too, of some good fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The reason I like \u201cVeterans Day\u201d without the apostrophe is that I think we should appreciate, and encourage each other, in that thought: we are all veterans. We have been through a lot, every one of us. Challenges, crises, distress, disaster. Health, finances, relationships. Self-confidence, lack of faith sometimes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n