If we do not take our roles as men and women, particularly in regards to the veteran community as if it were a matter of survival or extinction, then we will suffer the same fate as empires and dynasties past.
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We idolize so many figures and cultures from history, from Chesty Puller to Marcus Aurelius, from Sparta, Rome, Vikings, to Samurai and yet we do not follow their examples.
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Instead we take pride and laugh at the “Use of Big Words,” granted sometimes lightheartedly but it highlights the root of a problem. These men and societies of warriors were not single skilled and narrow minded people. In fact a majority of them have multiple quotes expressing the opposite in regards to the “All I know is War,” mentality that is a common mantra exuded by today’s veterans (and I am also fully guilty of.) Unfortunately that is a poor thing to be proud of, (obviously playful banter aside) because as this quote by Thucydides states:
“A Nation that makes a distinction between its Scholars and it’s Warriors will have it’s thinking done by Cowards and it’s fighting done by Fools.”
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I’m not saying that if you don’t get formal education or have an IQ of whatever, or even that college etc. is necessary. But I am suggesting that as a society Veteran and Civilian, if we are to leave a legacy as those before us did, and continue to solidify our permanence as The United States we should follow the practice of self education and continuance to seek knowledge as being premier in that foundation. With technology at every point of our lives, the ability to read and study anything is infinite.
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We owe it not only to ourselves, the dead, and generations past, but we owe it to our children and generations to come.

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