Heroes die. Remember this.

Heroes die. It’s an integral part of history. And when they leave, their contribution to our lives, to our community, is forgotten. Personal grief and loss, a sea of all-encompassing love, and warm memories continue to linger in the hearts of their loved ones.

The tragedy of this oblivion lies in the fact that we allow it. We allow ourselves to forget the heroes, to forget their sacrifices, to forget the price they paid for our freedom, our future. We must remember that they are not just names on monuments, they are people who loved, cried, laughed, and dreamt. People who chose to give their lives for a better tomorrow. The tragedy lies in the fact that we, as a society, neglect these heroes. We see this in the repeated disrespect they have experienced and felt recently.

What is this? A sense of safety? Adaptation? Or the failure to draw conclusions after we began noticing the absence of electricity and the gloom of war around us? What will happen when the threatening lightning light of drones and missiles disappears?

Have you ever seen a resume of a young girl where she indicates “widow”? This word, so short and direct, embodies as much pain and tragedy as few things can. She is young, but has lost her beloved, her husband, her hero. And this tragedy is now being reproduced in many generations of such “widows”. Have we ever thought about the heroic families who endured the entire service – from domestic hardships to combat wounds and explosion shocks? Do we have understanding and acceptance that their families feel pain from the unknown, from separation? Do we understand what it’s like to wait for a long-awaited message, a call, a text?

As a society, we need to change our attitude towards heroes and their relatives. We must respect and value their sacrifices. We need to show them that we truly do not forget, that we are not indifferent to their pain. If we don’t start doing this, we will allow our history to be forgotten. And that will be our greatest tragedy, as a country, as a whole people, as a nation. Heroes gave their lives for us. Their families experience pain, confusion, and loss. At the very least, we can thank them by respecting their sacrifice, their memory, by giving them the attention they deserve.

The least we can do, as a people, is to conduct ourselves worthy of those who gave their lives for us, and to their families, who continue to struggle with the pain of loss all their lives. This is a demand of our time, our conscience, our humanity.

Heroes die…