Originally posted by Gadiantor
Personally I don't have a problem with reading names and showing pictures of those that have died in service to their country.
I don't either. I think that seeing portraits and names brings us back to reality and to the fact that war does have consequences. When there is sorrow and when there is a reminder to the consequences in fighting for your beliefs, in the end, I think people gain a deeper respect for what America stands for. You win wars by standing by your beliefs. You don't win wars by giving up because your heart is broken or because your resolve has been weakened by being exposed to the devastation that is inevitable.

I don't believe for one minute that any of our soldiers would be crushed at the thought of giving their lives...they are trained to fight and I believe that they go down with that in mind. It is a mentality that many have grown to respect in our fighting men and women. They have a strength greater than I could ever know and I'd never take that away from them by refusing to acknowledge that they gave their lives. They deserve to be recognized. We should never be ashamed.

I think that bringing these deaths closer to home helps us gain some appreciation for the freedoms that we have BECAUSE these servicemen and women fought for our ideals and sacrificed their own lives so that we will remain free and safe from foreign threats.