‘Thank You Veterans’: Before You Say It, Trump Protesters, Keep This In Mind

“Thank you, veterans.”

Those three simple yet moving words started trending on Google today with good reason.

After all, it is Veterans’ Day, in which the world remembers the sacrifice generations of the U.S. military have made for their country’s freedoms.

Any who has ever seen combat — unfortunately a large number over the last 240 years — often bears the physical and psychological scarring that comes from life-or-death combat.

Even when there is a divide between the U.S. politically, veterans tend to be the one cherished asset that Democrats and Republicans could agree on with a celebratory and reverent tone.

But “Thank you, veterans” is a phrase with a sobering meaning today, just three days removed from one of the most bitter elections of modern times.

#ThankYouVeterans for all the sacrifices you have made for this country. #VeteransDay pic.twitter.com/yBxGrEDGgv

— Grok Nation (@GrokNation) November 11, 2016

Trump protesters have taken to the streets to make their voices heard. Petitions have been launched asking the time-honored Electoral College to make an exception and grant the Presidency to Hillary Clinton on the grounds that she won the popular vote.

Mrs. Clinton, for her part, has already conceded the election and urged the “peaceful transfer of power,” so that is unlikely to happen when the delegates make their official selections in December.

The foregone conclusion — and something no protest will change — is that Donald Trump is the next President of the United States.

If that doesn’t sit well with you, and if it takes you to the streets to protest and throw bricks through car windows as some are doing, then you may want to hold off on that obligatory “Thank you, veterans” post.

Why?

Because by a much wider majority than the final election results, the nation’s military want Donald Trump in charge of the nuclear codes.

Look no further than how they voted on election day as your proof. By a margin of 2-1, military veterans broke for Donald Trump, according to AOL News.

He dominated the veteran vote largely because he spoke to their needs — needs that have been badly served over the last few decades.

While President Barack Obama presided over a scandal at the V.A. during his administration, in which veterans were literally dying from overly long waits, Trump was calling the government-run medical services a “disgrace.”

While the political establishment tried to explain why the issue was too complex to fix overnight, Trump was standing up in rallies of 10,000 people or more and laying it all at the feet of “do-nothing, all-talk, no-action politicians.” It was Trump’s loud, brash way of saying, “Thank you, veterans.” He even boycotted a debate and used that absence to raise $6 million for veterans’ causes.

Never mind the fact that he said some questionable (to say the least) things about prisoners of war while putting down former POW and current Arizona Sen. John McCain early in his candidacy.

Vets — the same ones in your family, Trump protesters; the same ones you’re posting, “Thank you, veterans” to today — forgave Trump’s unpolished remarks because they saw a man, who valued them and hit back at the bureaucracy that was making them feel more and more left behind by the country they served each day.

So when you throw that brick, when you say #NotMyPresident, when you refuse to give President-elect Donald Trump the “open mind” that Mrs. Clinton urged in her concession speech, your “Thank you, veterans” might as well be a “F*** you, veterans.”

“We’re going to rebuild our military and take care of our GREAT GREAT GREAT Veterans.” – @realDonaldTrump#VeteransDay???????? #ThankYouVeterans pic.twitter.com/eW5IncRrEB

— Vote Trump Pics (@VoteTrumpPics) November 11, 2016

Most want Trump. Most believe in him. He has earned their respect and confidence until he demonstrates to them that he doesn’t deserve it. Again, he won over 67 percent of their vote, just as he won the Electoral College fair and square.

You don’t have to like it. After all, 33 percent of veterans didn’t want him, but you don’t see them dishonoring the electoral process.

You have to respect what happened Tuesday, or you have no business saying “Thank you, veterans,” at all.

[Featured Image by Adventures of KM&G-Morris/Flickr Creative Commons/Resized and Cropped/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]