I like these pictures -- I've never really seen the monuments at night.

Hey Nate,
Why don't you thank the veterans that gave you your freedom, instead of posting your dark comments

NWILSON,

I think my intentions and your interpretation of what I have written here differ substantially. I very sincerely understand and appreciate our veterans' sacrifices. Touring these memorials affected me especially for this reason.

However, we have fought wars for many reasons. Yes, in some cases (most notably the revolutionary and world wars) we paid in lives to protect our freedom. But the driving forces behind other wars (Vietnam, Iraq) are more nebulous, and I think it does a disservice to those who died when we accept their sacrifice without questioning why they had to make it. Were millions of young men really sent to Vietnam to protect our freedom, or has "freedom" become a rather arbitrary term our government has used in the past and present to justify other ends?

My "dark comments" are not meant to disrespect our veterans. I am indebted to them; I certainly do not think I have the courage to have walked in their shoes. Rather, I am asking whether we are doing everything we can to spare the lives of those servicemen and women still untouched by the atrocities of war, and whether our government is itself protecting our freedoms in every peaceful way possible.