I’m tired of poems like this, sent to all members of CERT (I’m pretty sure I’m the only liberal on the group):

Tribute to Soldiers (author unknown)

It’s the Soldier, not the reporter
who has given us the freedom of the press.
It’s the Soldier, not the poet,
who has given us the freedom of speech.
It’s the Soldier, not the politicians
that ensures our right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
It’s the Soldier who salutes the flag,
who serves beneath the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag.

I really wanted to write back:

As a veteran, in a family full of veterans, I will say this is inaccurate. There are plenty of countries with strong militaries that prevent these very rights. While the military ensures that we can practice these rights, if the press didn’t fight for them, they would lose their freedoms. If we don’t use our right of free speech, we will lose them. A strength of our system is that the military serves under civilians.

I’m also really against being used as a prop to try to shut down other people’s speech.