Not Me, WE the People

I was in the airport in Baltimore, waiting to go home to Boise after a week of training at corporate. I had been dropped off at the airport 6 hours before my flight actually left, so I was just hanging out with the friends I had made at training until one by one we all caught our flights and went back to the real world. I was so tired, and I was just excited to finally go home for the first time since I moved to SF.

There were just two of us left, me and Jeff from Seattle. We were trying to figure out where his gate was, when we found a large group of people blocking a walkway in the terminal.

At first, I was annoyed. Why were all these people blocking the terminal? Even though my flight isn't for another 3 hours, I still had important places to be. Me me me me.

Then, we heard applause. Not wanting to be awkward, Jeff and I started applauding too. We weren't really sure what for. But we noticed some older gentlemen walking in the middle of the crowd of people.

We probably stood there for a good 15 minutes just applauding and we weren't sure why. Then we overheard some people saying that this was the Honor Flight arriving.

Background Info: The Honor Flight is a trip funded by this organization to give veterans a chance to see historical sites for free. These were WWII veterans coming to see Washington DC.

Suddenly, this became one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. These cute little old men, wearing their veteran hats, and smiling and waving while a crowd of people applauded them. It had been so long since they had been recognized for their service in one of the most important wars for our country.

We stood there for almost a half hour applauding them, long enough for my arms and hands to get numb from clapping so much. It took them a while to all get off the plane, but they all got a standing ovation for their service to their country. And I am such a sympathetic cryer, as soon as one of these cute old men got teary eyed, I just bawled.

This is why I love our country. All it took was just a handful of people to applaud our veterans. Some people just hurried by and were annoyed by the crowd (as I was at the beginning). But if we just take a minute to not focus on ourselves, and realize the more important things at stake, we would realize the true value of people in this country. People who were unselfish and decided to risk their own lives for their country and the betterment of all those living there.

I don't like to talk about politics. I feel people pretty much have their mind made up on who they are going to vote for, and arguing about it isn't going to change anything. But this election has turned into a "me" fest. People aren't looking out for the common good, they are looking for ways to nit-pick the presidential candidates to death, and vote for the candidate that promises to help "me" the most.

All I'm saying is I got a very important reminder that day to value other people before myself. This is what makes America great. It's not Yellowstone, Niagara Falls, the beautiful Rocky Mountains or these gorgeous beaches in California. It's the people, and it ALWAYS has been the people.

(This isn't the exact honor flight greeting I participated in, but here is an article about one similar here. )