Americans desensitized to costs of freedom

Lim is a Resident Assistant for the Office of Residential
Life.

By Richard Lim

As some of you know, the movie “We Were Soldiers”
was released this past Friday. As a proud citizen of this great
nation, this film forced me to reevaluate what it truly means to be
an American.

Without ruining the story for those of you who may want to see
this film, I will only give you what is necessary to make my point.
This film is based on a true story centered around our involvement
in the Vietnam War. It specifically focuses on a small regiment of
U.S. Army soldiers led by Col. Moore (Mel Gibson).

The men in this regiment were called upon as fathers, husbands,
sons and brothers to become soldiers of war. Each soldier is
personalized so when one of them dies in battle, you see it as a
loss of a loved one, rather than a faceless soldier.

The brutality of war shown in this film was no different from
the accurate portrayal of such movies like “Saving Private
Ryan” and the more recent “Black Hawk Down.” Many
of us find it difficult not to cringe at the sight of soldiers
blown and shot to pieces. As much as I love my country, I will
admit that seeing these sights gives me second thoughts on joining
the military and a revived respect to those who are serving right
now. Knowing that freedom is not free, and that America’s
sons and daughters have died to keep that freedom alive forces me
to reevaluate what it means to be an American.

After a heart-moving two hours of this film, the end credits
began with a list of names of those who died serving under the
command of Col. Moore. To my surprise and disgust, a third of the
packed movie theatre left their seats while this list was
shown.

Knowing the grief and pain that these soldiers and their
families faced in order to defend the rights we so often take for
granted, I found it extremely rude and disrespectful of the
audience not to have the consideration to sit for even a minute to
think about those names.

Despite the negative sentiment of the Vietnam War, these
soldiers died for their country, and for the freedom we enjoy; they
deserve our respect.

What have we become as Americans? Have we become so used to the
luxury of freedom that we have forgotten it came with a price? Now
once again, we are a nation at war. Whether you support the war
effort or not, it won’t change what I’m about to say to
all Americans.

Now more than ever, we are called upon to fulfill the duties of
our citizenship. Whether you serve in the military or serve the
community, now is a better time than ever to display in good faith
your love for this country through the spirit of volunteerism.

We need to understand that America does not force its citizens
to commit to military service like some other nations, because the
love of the people ought to be the motivating force. Mandatory
community service is not what the American Spirit is about, but if
I truly believe in my country, service should automatically
follow.

America and the freedom for which it stands is depending on us
to give back in this great time of need. I’m proud to be an
American, and I hope you are too.