In A Word - Medal
Gerald Eisman
March 22, 2006
In a word: Medal: A flat piece of metal stamped with a design or an inscription commemorating an event or a person, often given as an award.
I often see, in all facets of the media, military men being given a decoration for bravery on the battlefield or other feats of valor. Officers take great pride in recognizing those feats and the presentations are accomplished amid great pomp and circumstance, followed by celebrations that often last for days. These celebrations are attended by political dignitaries, high ranking officers and societal giants. It's all very impressive.
Seeing those heroes being honored does my heart good for nothing inspires us to greater heights than to see an ordinary person stretch beyond his or her individual abilities to perform superhuman feats. I feel unabashed pride for them and wish them all the best. They deserve it. Still, I feel there are many people out there who will never get the recognition they deserve for doing the same as those heroes, stretching beyond their limits to accomplish superhuman feats. Perhaps valor doesn't enter the equation, but certainly perseverance, understanding, inner strength and love play a vital role.
So, with that thought in mind I would like to nominate the following people for medals.
The first recipients of an award for uncommon valor are the parents of all the good kids in our nation. I say that because of all the nights they spent walking the floors when the children were sick and pacing those same floors when the kids were out with the family car. For the many hours they spent helping with the homework, and the other hours waiting with the kids to hear whether they were accepted into college – or got that job they so wanted.
And, lest we forget, let's bestow a medal on the grandparents who, after spending a large part of their lives bringing up their own children, found the job wasn't finished. Their award is for being there for the kids, the grandkids and sometimes the great grandkids. They are almost always ready and willing to pitch in to lend a hand for the family, even if it means forgoing that trip they'd planned for years, or seeing that movie they wanted to see.
I think we should bestow medals on our firefighters and police for the job they do day after day, risking their lives so we may live safely in ours. The everyday feats they perform ensures we can pursue our everyday tasks in peace and relative safety. How often in the course of their job do they put themselves out for things so trivial as pulling a stranded cat out of a tree or serious as pulling a trapped person from a damaged car. Still, the recognition they get too often is a one-fingered salute or verbal abuse from the very people they have sworn to protect.
How about giving medals to those blue-collar workers who keep our cities and towns running clean and efficiently. They, whose efforts go unsung and too often unrecognized, deserve kudos for the work they do.
I think it is time we gave medals to those research scientists without whom our world would still exist in the dark ages. Moreover, lets give praise to the other professionals who unflaggingly strive to improve the lot of our everyday lives. They never get the recognition they so richly deserve.
Then there are our educators who continually work to instill knowledge into the heads of those who resist, the kids that are in need of it the most. Theirs is a hugely thankless job yet they face the challenge daily despite threats of violence from parents, children, administrators and other teachers. They must not only teach, but raise the children of the absentee parents, latchkey kids, and the incorrigibles. But there too, the efforts go largely unrecognized.
Lastly, I would reserve medals for those few politicians who honestly try to effect changes in our government that would improve the lot of our citizens, be they infants, senior citizens, or all those in between. Granted, there aren't too many of them out there, but they should get a medal as well for their efforts.
Unfortunately, all those are the heroes that do not get the recognition they so richly deserve. Wouldn't it be nice if we, as good and understanding citizens, would put forth an effort to be a little more sympathetic toward their situation and give them a thumbs up. I think that would make them feel so much better about the job they do and show how much they are appreciated. As a great philosopher once said, "Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them."
Copyright March 22, 2006
I often see, in all facets of the media, military men being given a decoration for bravery on the battlefield or other feats of valor. Officers take great pride in recognizing those feats and the presentations are accomplished amid great pomp and circumstance, followed by celebrations that often last for days. These celebrations are attended by political dignitaries, high ranking officers and societal giants. It's all very impressive.
Seeing those heroes being honored does my heart good for nothing inspires us to greater heights than to see an ordinary person stretch beyond his or her individual abilities to perform superhuman feats. I feel unabashed pride for them and wish them all the best. They deserve it. Still, I feel there are many people out there who will never get the recognition they deserve for doing the same as those heroes, stretching beyond their limits to accomplish superhuman feats. Perhaps valor doesn't enter the equation, but certainly perseverance, understanding, inner strength and love play a vital role.
So, with that thought in mind I would like to nominate the following people for medals.
The first recipients of an award for uncommon valor are the parents of all the good kids in our nation. I say that because of all the nights they spent walking the floors when the children were sick and pacing those same floors when the kids were out with the family car. For the many hours they spent helping with the homework, and the other hours waiting with the kids to hear whether they were accepted into college – or got that job they so wanted.
And, lest we forget, let's bestow a medal on the grandparents who, after spending a large part of their lives bringing up their own children, found the job wasn't finished. Their award is for being there for the kids, the grandkids and sometimes the great grandkids. They are almost always ready and willing to pitch in to lend a hand for the family, even if it means forgoing that trip they'd planned for years, or seeing that movie they wanted to see.
I think we should bestow medals on our firefighters and police for the job they do day after day, risking their lives so we may live safely in ours. The everyday feats they perform ensures we can pursue our everyday tasks in peace and relative safety. How often in the course of their job do they put themselves out for things so trivial as pulling a stranded cat out of a tree or serious as pulling a trapped person from a damaged car. Still, the recognition they get too often is a one-fingered salute or verbal abuse from the very people they have sworn to protect.
How about giving medals to those blue-collar workers who keep our cities and towns running clean and efficiently. They, whose efforts go unsung and too often unrecognized, deserve kudos for the work they do.
I think it is time we gave medals to those research scientists without whom our world would still exist in the dark ages. Moreover, lets give praise to the other professionals who unflaggingly strive to improve the lot of our everyday lives. They never get the recognition they so richly deserve.
Then there are our educators who continually work to instill knowledge into the heads of those who resist, the kids that are in need of it the most. Theirs is a hugely thankless job yet they face the challenge daily despite threats of violence from parents, children, administrators and other teachers. They must not only teach, but raise the children of the absentee parents, latchkey kids, and the incorrigibles. But there too, the efforts go largely unrecognized.
Lastly, I would reserve medals for those few politicians who honestly try to effect changes in our government that would improve the lot of our citizens, be they infants, senior citizens, or all those in between. Granted, there aren't too many of them out there, but they should get a medal as well for their efforts.
Unfortunately, all those are the heroes that do not get the recognition they so richly deserve. Wouldn't it be nice if we, as good and understanding citizens, would put forth an effort to be a little more sympathetic toward their situation and give them a thumbs up. I think that would make them feel so much better about the job they do and show how much they are appreciated. As a great philosopher once said, "Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them."
Copyright March 22, 2006
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