Armistice Day and Patriotism

William Hurst

Today marks 100 years since Armistice Day, the end of World War One.

Two of my grandparents were just infants on that day.  I'm sure that their parents, like the rest of the world, breathed a sigh of relief.  The "war to end all wars" had ended and their older sons wouldn't be shipped off to a foreign land to fight now.  Little did they know that just over 20 years later, both of those infants would be fighting against Germany and a new cast of enemies driven by nationalism, racism and fascism.

My Grandpa Bill was sent to the Aleutian Islands and ended up getting injured clearing airstrips, which eventually led to him meeting my grandmother.  She was in the Army Nurses Corps and worked at Putnam County Hospital when she returned home, where my grandpa was getting therapy. She actually served in "hot spots" during the war: Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Italy, and North Africa. I remember my grandma Helen sharing stories from her time in the service.

One of her favorite stories to tell went something like this: "We were sitting around on Christmas Eve.  Taking care of the enemy (German) soldiers who had been injured. We had chocolate and some treats and one of the patients asked for a bite of it. We disagreed about giving him a piece and ended up voting not to. I will always regret that we didn't share the chocolate, but it was war."
She also told a story about worship during the war: "We didn't care who was Catholic, Baptist, Jewish, or Atheist.... we all prayed together. It didn't matter who you were or what you looked like, we are all human and needed each other."

Helen Hurst

Grandma Hurst came back home and got herself elected to public office (a first for a female in our county from what I have been told), and then married my Grandpa Bill.  She served as a school nurse, volunteered with various groups, hosted schoolchildren at their farm, was 'Old Mother Goose' at the annual Ag Day every year, and contributed mightily to our community.  Not only did she drive me crazy by telling me to "smile" when I was a hormonal teenager who just wanted left alone, but she also preached love of our country and how it was our duty to vote every time, to contribute and give back to the community, and to be kind to people who may be different. She wasn't perfect and I don't agree with all of the stuff she told me, but I do believe that she and my grandpa were a major influence in my sense of community and patriotism.

When I think of a patriot, I always think of my grandparents first. The way they lived, served, and loved this country and their community. The way they treated people like they mattered most at that moment. I remember countless times that Grandma and Grandpa would be feeding people who had broken down on the highway by their house or the countless people who were walking down our road as part of some trek across the country. They had no problem sharing their table with complete strangers from all walks of life. In retrospect, this makes total sense, considering the racism and nativism that they had seen in their lifetime. They knew that people were people.

The President of France said this over the weekend as part of a speech celebrating the 100th anniversary of the armistice,“Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism. Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism by saying: ‘Our interest first. Who cares about the others?"
On this day of remembrance of the end of the war to end all wars, which has now been re-branded as a day to honor those who have taken an oath to serve our nation in the armed forces, I wonder if we can unite as patriots and shed the nationalist rhetoric and spirit that is growing in our nation and beyond?  I wonder if we can look back to the causes of the two horrible conflicts from the first half of the last century and learn from it?  I wonder if we can love each other and our country enough to be patriotic, to realize we all need each other, that we are all made in the image of God, and "share the chocolate?"

Thank you to all who have and are serving so that I am free to be a patriot, free to love my country and community, and free to be able to blog, among other things.