Forgetting. It’s easier to do than it should be, and everyone does it. Some more. Some less. But all too often the train of thought gets stuck at the station.

It’s almost surprising to those who aren’t directly affected — i.e. those without loved ones serving — to comprehend that America is at war. Iraq is so far away, and seems to have become more of a political pawn than a presence we all face on a daily basis.

Across the globe bullets are flying and soldiers are dying but, for most here, life goes on pretty much as it did before the war started.

The majority of the public takes notice of the larger milestones and only when they’re shoved in its collective face, but other than the political chutes and ladders involved and the push to end the war, it has become an afterthought. A minute segment on the evening news.

Perhaps Americans have become so jaded by these “televised conflicts” that distraction from the rising death toll has become as easy to find as new channel. Is the pervasive violence in our society simply viewed as competition to the war? Or are the constant updates from the media which read like a grim score card — 10 dead, five dead, 23 dead — simply turning people with families and loved ones into cold, hard statistics?

The nature of foreign wars has changed dramatically in the past few decades. By and large the media is to blame for this. If it gets ratings or readership it’s the top story or on Page 1, if it’s “old news,” it gets buried.

Meanwhile, the men and women who serve America and go so far as to die for this country are lost in the shuffle.

It is a sad state of affairs which becomes even more disheartening when one takes into account the fact that many of our World War II veterans are dying due to old age. For whatever reason, veterans since then — whether they have fought or not — don’t seem to receive the same kind of gratitude.

Yet many have made the same sacrifices. They’ve left their families and friends and been sent to another country. Watched their comrades die before their eyes and maybe even been wounded themselves. In short, veterans, all veterans deserve our thanks today.

All too often our fighting men and women today are virtually forgotten in the field and practically dismissed when their service has ended.

This is shameful.

“Support our Troops” should be taken to heart across America not only to back those currently at risk but all who have served this country over the years. Don’ t focus on the statistics or the politics. Focus on the people.

The war rages on, and like it or loathe it, it’s about more than the Bush Administration, Iraqi freedom and a growing deficit. Bottom line, it’s about the men and women serving our country on the front lines.

Today is a day of remembrance. Not only, we feel, for those who have answered the call in the past, but just as importantly, those who are answering it right now.

So let them know you appreciate them. Let them know you care about them. Let them know, you, personally, will never forget them.