On Wednesday, Covington, Newton County and the country honored the men and women who have defended us. There were celebrations of remembrance, local establishments giving discounts to former and current military members, and a variety of thank yous.

It was a day where people were put before politics.

On Veterans Day, a veteran or soldier wasn’t a symbol of a heated debate or controversy; he or she was a husband, a wife, a son, a daughter, a sister or a brother.

That is the glory of Veterans Day; which falls on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, with ceremonies beginning on the eleventh hour.

Some wonder why that homage comes just when the calendar comes up in elevens.

Our own veteran, Pete Mecca, whose writing can be seen here every week in A Veteran’s Story feature, wondered that. Mecca served his country during the Vietnam War, and on page 1C he describes how those returning from Vietnam were never greeted with a “thank you,” but welcomed with bitterness.

Like the 60’s, current times are turbulent to say the least. As a society, our first thought lately is how horrible a decision is, and we do whatever it takes to prove that; even if that means the mistreatment of others.

Engaging in a war is a decision no one wants made. But when it is made, someone must do the fighting. Those doing the fighting aren’t the same people as those who make the decision to engage. But they are the ones who make the decision to put their lives at risk.

That, we should never forget.

Arguments will always be made that we shouldn’t have been in our recent wars. It is our right to voice our anger, disagreement, or frustration to our leaders and even our country on a whole. But much of that right has been fought for and defended by those we said thank you to on Veterans Day.

Friday night’s attack on Paris is another sad and horrible example of how rights and freedoms come under attack. When that happens, the response typically comes through those who serve in the armed services. The sacrifices from those men and women are made to defend our very freedom.

If that isn’t worth a thank you more than once a year, we don’t know what is.

As a society, our first thoughts lately seem to be how terrible any decision is and how much better our own ideas are. And we do whatever it takes to prove that notion; even if that means the mistreatment of others who deserve our respect.

Our community has a strong network of active duty service men and women and veterans. They are our neighbors, they go to church with us, they teach our children, and they work with us. Our community has new and old monuments honoring veterans. We bow our heads and have moments of silence when freedom is attacked.

The true tragedy would be if the spirit of Veterans Day was only shown one day of the year. We should express our thanks to those who serve and have served whenever we have the opportunity. Let them know we are stronger because of them.