The Importance Of Thanking A Veteran By Rick London

  Other seasoned artists, writers, musicians etc. with whom I’ve spoken and are friends, understand clearly with no explanation.

For those who have never worked in a field in which the “envelope is encouraged to be pushed”, sometimes they don’t understand when I tell them that Veteran’s Day may be one of the most important if not most important days of the year.

These thank you posts to our veterans, for us, are put up with great emotion; for we know that without our veterans, none of us would be doing the work we love to do, except in hiding, as it is only the countries that suppress, kill, censor and torture their citizens, the one’s that often eventually begin a war to defend their wrongdoing, that consider their creative persons “the most dangerous”.

In a free country, like ours, legends like Mad Magazine, Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, Colbert, The Onion, and yes, even Londons Times Cartoons thrive. Matters not if one likes that type media or not, just be glad it exists, because when/if it ever stops, we’re in big trouble as a nation. In countries like America, one does not need to agree with the philosophies of such media, but they better think twice if they don’t think they should exist.  That’s how Syria, Iran and other such countries think, intensely.  So they don’t (exist) in those countries. I take that back; some do, but they are done very carefully “in undisclosed locations”.  

And it is our veterans that have fought for our freedoms so that we don’t have to hide in caves to work. In fact we can be proud of our work and most of us are.

So when I “Thank A Veteran”, I tell them why.  Almost none of them have thought of that, they tell me, but it is absolutely true.  Freedom breeds creativity. Suppression and censorship are violations to the body, mind and soul.

Even if you don’t work in the arts/and letters, chances are you utilize them at times. You listen to iTunes, you read your favorite magazine or newspaper, you watch movies, and hopefully you read Londons Times Cartoons .   If you enjoy any of that activity, you too, may thank a veteran.  Without our veterans, chances are very slim any of those would exist, or, if they did, they would be heavily conrolled and censored by the government to fit their philosophy, and only one philosophy would be allowed. 

Please thank a Veteran today.  Let he or she know how much you appreciate him/her and why. It possibly is one of the most important things any of us will do this year.  If you can’t find one nearby, there’s always groups on facebook, Twitter, etc. It only takes a minute and it means a lot to them.  Just let them know you feel they are very important and we could never repay them (and that would be true). 

Thank you kindly.

Sincerely,
Rick London

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Rick London is a designer, cartoonist, songwriter and author.  He is best known for his Google #1 ranked offbeat cartoons and funny gifts Londons Times Cartoon. He is married to popular nature photographer Lee Hiller-London and together they live and hike in their home in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas. Lee has he popular nature blog Hike Our Planet.