Remembering our Veterans

            “Do you have school off this Tuesday?” The question took me by surprise. I didn’t think we did but wasn’t too sure. Lately I’ve been living one day at a time – it turns out to be a pretty efficient way of doing things, if shortsighted. Then, a barrage of questions whipped through my head: DO I have school off next Tuesday? If I don’t have school on Tuesday, what can I put off that I was planning on doing Monday? On Tuesday? Then the most important question: WHY would I have Tuesday off in the first place?

            As is usually the case, the answer lay in the circumstances of the question. The man that asked me was a veteran. Instantly I went from hopeful for a day off from class to being ashamed. “It’s veterans day,” he offered after a moment, saving me from the mumbling, bumbling response that is often the result of my both trying to think and talk at 1000 miles per hour. But I wasn’t just ashamed that I hadn’t immediately known that it was veteran’s day or that I had failed to put two and two together when he asked me the question. Instead, I was most ashamed that, when I finally realized what was being asked and why it was being asked, I had to say “No.”

            I don’t consider it a secret that our nation has failed and is failing veterans returning from serving our country. According to a study conducted by researchers at the Department of Veterans Affairs, 22 military veterans kill themselves every day. Some people think that number is too high and that most of these suicides are the result of normal factors and have nothing to do with time served. Others think the number is too low. That it is THE number at all is indeed troubling. Coming up with a way to curb this metric is complicated, it is probably expensive and there may be no right answer – not to say that this means a solution shouldn’t be pursued. Instead, I say this because giving people the day off to celebrate and commemorate our veterans is none of those things.

           

            When I first realized that we didn’t have Veterans day off, I began to ask myself why. Maybe it was because there weren’t enough veterans at our school to warrant a day off. Surely that wasn’t the case. In 2009 the Post 9/11 GI Bill went into effect. In three short years this bill helped nearly 860,000 veterans get their foot in the door on the path to higher education. The numbers were there. Following this pattern, there was no question that I could ask that led me to an adequate answer for UNC not observing Veterans Day. My final reasoning ended up being that the school probably felt they couldn’t give up a full day of instruction and operation in the home stretch of the semester. And that’s a damn shame.

            There are many solutions to this problem. Start school a day early, on a Monday instead of Tuesday, end school a day later – a Thursday instead of a Wednesday. There are several days we have off that we don’t really need – but to not take Veterans Day off is inexcusable. I am ashamed to attend an institution where student-veterans are supposed to attend class on a day they should be celebrated. Even if you don’t agree with the conflicts the US has been involved in, recently or historically, that doesn’t mean that you should not appreciate the men and women that have answered the call of duty. There is a difference between being political and being patriotic; celebrating Veterans day is certainly the former and should never be mistaken as the latter. We need to realize that almost none of the institutions that we take for granted would be possible without the brave men and women that have fought for our freedom for the last 200+ years. To feel that taking one day off to commemorate the heroes that have returned home from battle and those that have lost their lives is not a worthwhile cause is contradictory to the American ideals that have been instilled in me by teachers, my parents and friends for the past 21 years.

            According to the Department of Labor, Labor Day “constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity and well-being of our country.” Labor Day is also a federally mandated national holiday. I can think of no group that has contributed more to the strength, prosperity or well being of our country than the military. Veterans Day should be a national holiday, no ifs ands or buts about it. Until it is, every school and office should voluntarily shut down to honor those that have laid down their lives so that we can lead the comfortable lives that we do.

            To be honest, the only reason I knew Veterans Day was coming up was because it was on my iPhone calendar by default. That’s completely my fault and I take full responsibility for it. But it’s also society’s fault for not putting Veterans Day at the forefront of public discourse and forcing people to acknowledge it if it isn’t going to be nationally observed. So remember to thank a veteran today because our country and institutions certainly aren’t going to do it for you.