If you hate the war, that’s fine. But you should still support the troops. They don’t get to pick where they’re deployed. They just gave the American people a blank check for anything up to and including the value of their lives, and the least everyone else can do is be thankful. Buy them dinner. Mow their yard. Bake them cookies.
Interpretation
Support for troops is crucial regardless of one's stance on war.
This quote emphasizes the importance of showing gratitude and support for military personnel, regardless of personal feelings about the conflicts they are involved in. It highlights that soldiers do not control the wars they fight and thus deserve respect and appreciation for their sacrifices and service.
In practice
In a speech addressing veterans, you might quote this to emphasize the importance of civilian support.
It was my duty to shoot the enemy, and I don't regret it. My regrets are for the people I couldn't save: Marines, soldiers, buddies. I'm not naive, and I don't romanticize war. The worst moments of my life have come as a SEAL. But I can stand before God with a clear conscience about doing my job.
I don't have to psych myself up, or do something special mentally - I look through the scope, get my target in the cross hairs, and kill my enemy, before he kills one of my people.
MY REGRETS ARE ABOUT THE PEOPLE I COULDN’T SAVE—Marines, soldiers, my buddies. I still feel their loss. I still ache for my failure to protect them.
There are many ways of showing your protest and discontent without the actions of Kremlin.
I don't run away from a challenge because I am afraid. Instead, I run toward it because the only way to escape fear is to trample it beneath your feet.
I was afraid of being a failure, of not having the best time or of being chicken. But every year I get older I think, What was I fearing last year?' You forget. And then you move on.
The years of imprisonment hardened me... Perhaps if you have been given a moment to hold back and wait for the next blow, your emotions wouldn't be blunted as they have been in my case. When it happens every day of your life, when that pain becomes a way of life... there is no longer anything I can fear.
As soon as we left the ground, I knew I had to fly.
For years I was a rock climber and nothing else. I went to school, yes, and university, yes, but in my heart I was a rock climber.
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