Letter to the editor

Freedom isn’t free

Nov. 11, 2012, was a great day for me. I had the opportunity to watch a professional football game which clearly honored the sacrifice of American Veterans. Thousands of people came together to thank our armed forces for protecting the freedoms we hold so dear.

The armed forces do this daily by putting their lives on the line, as well as giving up control of their day-to-day activity in order to better themselves as soldiers. The immense show of gratitude was touching to say the least and was made that much more special since I was attending the game with someone currently serving in the military.
Two days later I was sitting in class with my heart breaking as my professor went on a personal tirade against the military. His rant insinuated that it is common for soldiers to turn to war crimes and rape when on deployment. He went on to say that this side of the military is never shown or talked about since military personnel have “all been considered heroes since 2001.”

If his point was supposed to be that some American troops have made mistakes just as our enemies have, fine. I’ll agree that people are human and things happen.

However, demonizing our entire military as though they are not individuals who deserve to be honored and thanked daily is disgusting. There is a reason that he has the freedom to say these horrible things about our patriots: these men and women are willing to die for this country and what it stands for.

Maybe the next time he faces a room of students he should think about how there is someone out there who is facing angry individuals who are armed with something much more deadly than a pencil.

Hannah Carlson
UW-River Falls student