Underneath My Armor, Part 7: Worth Dying For

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

-John Stewart Mill

Do you ever think about the notion of a "country/state" - is this worth fighting (dying) for vs family?

In a word. Yes.

I would lay down my life for my family, in a heart beat. Heaven help the soul that threatens to harm, or harms, the little girl sitting across from me, cramming tiny pieces of apple in her mouth, a slow torturous death is in store for them. I am struggling watching my sister struggle, I would give anything to change places with her, and take the illness that is stripping her of life and independence in a heartbeat.

But without a country, without the freedoms and liberties I take for granted, that family wouldn't be. My family has been shaped and formed by the country I live in; and while I don't say a prayer of thanks for the First Amendment every time I post on Facebook, I do know that without living here, we wouldn't be who we are.

And one more thing… if I am not willing to fight for my country, to support the rights that I believe belong to us all, then I am not fighting for my family. I would not want my daughter to grow up in a country where she is forced into a home, where she loses her voice, her right to vote, or any thing else. If I am not willing to put my life on the line for my country, then ultimately, I'm not willing to put my life on the line for her.

So yes, it is worth dying for, just like my family is.

~Jennifer