BY REV. DR. VAHAN H. TOOTIKIAN
Every year, on November 11, Veterans’ Day is observed as a national holiday in the United States, commemorating the armistice of World War I.
Formerly called “Armistice Day,” this observance marked the anniversary of the end of fighting in World War I, in 1918.
In 1954, the U.S. Congress changed the name of “Armistice Day” to Veterans’ Day to honor all United States veterans.
In the history of nations, 1918 was an historic year in more than one way. In that year, World War I ended and President Woodrow Wilson proposed his famous 14 Points; Turkish armies collapsed in Palestine; the Bolsheviks dissolved the Russian Dumma and formed the Red Army; and a number of nations declared their independence, including Czechoslovakia, Poland, Austria, Yugoslavia and Armenia.
After winning the three decisive battles of Sardarabad, Kara-Kilisa, and Bash-Abaran against the Turks, Armenians declared their independence on May 28, 1918. What saved Armenia was the heroic stand of the Armenian veterans, joined by civilians, against the invading Turkish armies.
Our ancestral land, Armenia, and our adopted country, America, owe an eternal debt to our veterans. They are a source of blessing and inspiration to us.
Our veterans inspire us in a number of ways.
Our veterans inspire us by their patriotism. We are inspired by their unselfish love for their country and countrymen. Our forefathers, as indentured servants, won their freedom and passed that gift of freedom on to their children and grandchildren. They paid a price for that freedom. Today, we are asked what it means to be a true patriot. To be sure, loving one’s homeland and loving one’s compatriots constitute the two sides of patriotism. Claiming to love the nation, but hating and hurting individual citizens because of their differences, is sheer hypocrisy. The privilege and responsibility of love is all inclusive. It is not a mere sentiment. It is a way of life.
Patriotism is sincerity. True patriots are sincere persons with moral integrity. There is no gap between what they say or do and what they really are.
Our veterans inspire us by their love for freedom. Freedom, in all its forms, has been the cornerstone of both Armenia and America.
Our veterans were committed to freedom─freedom from slavery and oppression, freedom of speech and thought; freedom of communication and worship.
But how free is our freedom? There is no such thing as absolute freedom. We are not free to do what we want to do. Freedom is an empty word if it means only absence from restraint or absence of authority. Freedom is action with responsibility. The idea is not freedom from but freedom to something. Freedom is a blessing if we can use it, and a curse if we misuse it, or abuse it.
Freedom is also something that should be preserved and perpetuated. The German poet and dramatist Goethe believed that those who would be free must “win their freedom afresh every day.”
After the Constitutional Convention in 1878, as the American statesman Benjamin Franklin was walking down a street in Philadelphia, a lady asked him, “Well Doctor, what have we got, a Republic or a Monarchy?” He replied, “A Republic, Madam, if we can keep it.”
Likewise, we will have freedom on many fronts of our daily struggle if we can keep it.
Our veterans inspire us by their staying power. Staying power is endurance, perseverance, patience. It is the ability to stick with it. We admire and salute the staying power of our veterans. We admire their commitment and their loyalty to their cause. We greatly appreciate the fact that our veterans found in the service of their nation and country something they deemed more important than themselves, to which they gave their lifelong loyalty.
Staying power is an imperative ingredient of effective living. We all need it. We all admire it in others. We would like to have more of it ourselves. Where do we get it? St. Paul says, “Affliction gives us staying power” (Romans 5:3). When we face problems and fight our way through them, we build moral muscle and staying power.
On Veterans’ Day, once again, we salute all our veterans, American as well as Armenian veterans, for their patriotism, manifested in their courage and sacrifice, for their love of freedom, and for their staying power!
May their inspiring example always inspire us!
Rev. Dr. Vahan H. Tootikian is the Minister Emeritus of the Armenian Congregational Church of Greater Detroit and the Executive Director of the Armenian Evangelical World Council.
