Thursday, February 19, 2009

On Cruise Ships and Aircraft Carriers

Last week in San Diego, I was taking a shuttle to the airport along with a family on their way back home to San Francisco. The wife in that family noticed in the distance a cruise ship anchored in the water near by. She commented favorably on the impressiveness of that large, glistening white ship, but then she drew in a sharp breath.

"Oh, but next to it, that's ... kind ... of, uh -- eerie," she said, her voice trailing off.

It took me a moment to figure out what she found to be eerie, but then I saw what for her was a ghastly sight: an aircraft carrier near the cruise ship.

I didn't share her feeling.

I suppose that for some, a ship of war next to one of play is "eerie," but I find it entirely appropriate. We enjoy a level of freedom and a way of life that would be the envy of much of the world. One of the reasons we enjoy those things is that they have been secured, to borrow from Churchill, by the sweat, the blood, the toil, and the tears, of those who have fought, and sometimes died, that we might be free.

Those two ships side by side were a helpful reminder. They remind us that the freedoms we enjoy, including economic freedom and fthe reedom to travel, are owed to those who serve our country. For them, I am grateful.

1 Comments:

Blogger Lanette said...

Great post and well stated.

3:13 PM  

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