Why did state force veterans assembly?

This letter is inspired by the letter Nov. 20, 2012 by Kerri Rankin Thoreson.

In our day, military service was required and most young men planned their life around meeting their military obligation. For anyone to insult or disrespect some one who did what his political leaders require was definitely wrong and I agree with Ms. Thoreson on this point.

As I pointed out in my article, no one ever insulted my veteran’s status. Maybe if I had been subjected to this abuse I might feel differently? Some times prejudice is aimed at people who make an issue of who they are and therefore become a target. I never made an issue of my veteran’s status or paraded it in public. Maybe that is why I was never a victim of this bullying?

On Nov. 12, 2012, I attended the Sandpoint High School assembly designed to honor veterans. The purpose was to thank me for my service. I wondered if it was appropriate for the students to thank me for some thing that I was required to do? Maybe I should be thanking them for holding the service and honoring me? I thanked each student I encountered for attending and honoring me. I then talked with school officials and learned that Idaho state law requires the school to hold this assembly! The students were honoring me because they were required to! I then had second thoughts about thanking them.

I am grateful that we no longer require our young people to provide military service. I noted few veterans at the service. I wondered if there were enough of us to make the program worthwhile? Maybe the next thing our government will do is to require retired veterans to attend the school service so students can thank us?

HARVEY PINE

Sandpoint