Namaste Veterans

On this Memorial Day weekend we honor the men and women who fight in the military, past or present. I sincerely want to do this but cannot buy into the hype out there that soldiers are fighting for my rights and freedom. This is a refrain often hear these days especially by passer bys to a protest on an aspect of military, like the recruiting and training of men and women. In fact according to one human rights lawyer, Bill Quigley, we have lost significant civil liberties since the start of the Obama administration. See Bill Quigley on the Obama Civil Liberties “F” Report Card.

I do not believe that my freedom and human rights comes from a gun or bomb in Afghanistan or Iraq. Yet the dilemma remains how to honor soldiers without justifying the wars they fight. In India there is a common greeting call Namaste. It can be made by a greeting or in silence and involves folding hands and making a slight bow when meeting someone. It is a sign of honor and respect. Silently or with a spoken greeting it means “I honor the place within you where the entire Universe resides; I honor the place within you of love, of light, of truth, of peace; I honor the place within you, where, when you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us.”
So to all veterans and to those who want to fold my hands and bow my head, Namaste!

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