I’ve been sitting with an uncomfortable question today: Am I worthy of the sacrifices our service members are willing to make for our safety, security, and freedom?

More simply — am I a good American?

Today is Memorial Day. Not “Happy Memorial Day” — there’s nothing happy about it. It’s somber, sacred, and reflective. It’s the day we honor those who paid the ultimate price for freedoms so profound we’ve grown blind to them: no foreign war on our soil, no bombers in our skies, no enemy attempting to install their will on our people. How lucky we are.

Last week I posted about my son’s journey to becoming a US Marine. Your response moved me — the stories, the connection to service, the care. Thank you.

Part of his training is developing the unflinching ability to lay down his life for this nation. Let me be specific: if someone rolled a grenade into his barracks, he would be among those lunging to fall on it. Not hesitating. Fighting to die so others can live.

Let that sink in.

Now think about what most of us would die for.  Keep thinking.  It’s not much.

These men and women are among the most educated, most physically fit people in our nation. They raised their right hands — voluntarily. Right now, while we scroll and grill and argue about nothing, they’ve likely already run five miles, knocked out hundreds of push-ups, and stood at rigid attention while a drill instructor dismantles their comfort zones to rebuild them as leaders worth following into fire.

They’re not doing it for a performance review.  They’re definitely not doing it for the money.

They’re doing it for you. For me. For freedoms we exercise so casually we’ve forgotten they’re guaranteed by someone else’s willingness to bleed.

The least we owe them is to be worthy of it.

So here’s my ask — not just today, but going forward: 

• Be civic-minded. 
• Respect others. 
• Serve something bigger than yourself. 
• Volunteer at a Veterans’ organization. 
• Stop being petty and sensitive – be okay with disagreeing with others.
• Have the hard conversation at your table today — what are we willing to sacrifice? It can be time, comfort, ego. What are you giving?

My son and his fellow candidates are  learning to lead from the front. The least we all can do is live a life that honors what they’re willing to die for.

Let’s all be worthy of it.