Happy Veteran's Day

Of all the great things about being involved with Barstool over the years, nothing has made me prouder than our unwavering, steadfast and deep appreciation of those who serve in the military.  As George Orwell put it, “People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”  And no one is more grateful for their sacrifice than those of us who sit back here exercising our Freedom of Speech every day while they go off and risk their lives to defend it.  Sincerely, we are grateful.  In the early days of the site, I was at one of our parties and these three guys who were just back from active duty in Afghanistan said they came to meet the Stool writers and thank us for the entertainment we provided them overseas.  Nothing I’ve ever heard before or since has left me so colossally dumbfounded.  I just stood there shaking his hand and questioning my own manhood before finally saying something like “Wait. So… you’ve been off fighting terrorists and you came here to thank us?”  That might not be the most profound example of the kind of character these guys in uniform possess, but it’s a moment I’ll never forget.

Early on in the Iraq war, I heard one of the embedded reporters tell a story about how he wanted to call his wife and kids back home but he couldn’t get his cell to work.  So one of the soldiers let him use his calling minutes, which were severely limited and treated like gold.  So the reporter told that story on the air and asked “Where does America keep finding young people like these?”  It’s something that’s stuck with me and a question I’ve asked myself a million times since.  Whether it was the First Responders running toward the danger at the Marathon bombing, seeing National Guardsmen do disaster relief or doctors and nurses go halfway around the world to fight Ebola.  But especially with respect to the people who put on the uniform, sacrifice so much and put themselves in harm’s way so the rest of us can sleep peaceably at night.   Where do we keep finding them?

And now I have my answer.  This is something I’ve mentioned elsewhere though never on the Stool until now: In two weeks I’ll be at Parris Island, SC for my son’s graduation from the US Marine Corps.  He graduated high school in May and went in as soon as they would take him.  We tried steering him into military schools, but all he ever wanted was to go to Boot Camp and start being a Marine right away.  And between the schools we visited and the recruiting office where we said goodbye to him back on Labor Day, believe me I saw the best America has to offer.  Just decent, earnest, sincere kids with deep convictions who couldn’t care less about drinking their brains out for four years on their parents’ dime.

I don’t know what instills it.  Why any kid would rather go through the grind of 13 weeks of (my son’s words) “pain and confusion” while the kids he grew up with are at parties with hot & cold running coeds and coming home on weekends so mom can do their laundry?  Why our friends get to follow every waking minute of their kids’ college careers through text, Facebook and Snapchat while we’ve been settling for 3 months worth of Snail Mail communication?  Or what drives him to go be the point of the spear for America when all his father wanted to do at 18 was to go over my buddies house so we could get drunk watching MacGyver and Monday Night Football?  There’s a line in “Lawrence of Arabia” where Lawrence’s commanding officer asks him why he has to be such a clown and he says “Well we can’t all be lion tamers.”  And what all this has taught me is that sometimes, inexplicably, the clowns raise the lion tamers.

So that’s where we keep finding them.  They come from all walks of life, including middle class suburban families who didn’t choose this for them and cry every day while they’re gone but who respect and honor their decision.  They’re kids motivated by a wish to serve their country and be part of something greater than themselves.  It’s a calling.  A sense of duty and a desire to live lives they can be proud of.  And to do violence on our behalf if necessary to keep the rest of us safe.  So from one military dad to my own veteran and to all who serve, on behalf of everyone here at Barstool, Happy Marine Corps Birthday (yesterday) and Happy Veteran’s Day.  Be safe.  And thank you.  Oo-rah.  @JerryThornton1