War Quote. My mom forwarded this quote to me. It's by Gordon B. Hinckley, who is currently the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly referred to as Mormons...). He was giving a devotional speech at the BYU and said regarding all the US servicemen and National Guardsmen who have been called up:


"We pray with earnestness and with faith that God will watch over them and preserve them and return them unharmed to those who love them most. In such times as this we feel the great inequality of sacrifice when men and women are called to active duty in behalf of their country. May those of us who are spared of such sacrifice never be proud or arrogant, but rather humbly grateful for those who lay their lives on the line in time of war." (emphasis mine)


Interesting take on the attitudes that we, who stay behind, should have when our country goes to war. I immediately thought of war protestors, but this can also be overlayed to the other extreme of those who go around saying "kick ass" and stuff like that.


It also made me think about a conversation that Christine and I were having. Where she pointed out... no matter what your feelings about Bush and his politics, diplomacy, and or syntax... he certainly always seems to have the correct demeanor when issuing statements. Not overly jovial, or cocky, and also, not overly grim. It's like, he understands this very point.


Also, the part about feeling the great inequality of sacrifice... I hadn't really ever felt that before (or at least hadn't recognized that feeling). But yesterday I saw a picture of one of the maintenance people that took a wrong turn and got ambushed. It was a 20 year old girl. She looked so young, and innocent. And I was sort of upset about it, in a weird way. I didn't really know how to describe what I was feeling... but I think Pres. Hinckley just did... I was feeling an "Inequality of Sacrifice".