Please and Thank You

When I was a child, my family taught me to say “Please” and “Thank you.” It was called “being polite.” To say “please” recognized the value of the other person, inherent reality. He or she existed, as I did, and it would be impolite to run roughshod. “Please” was not simply a request for something (Please pass the green beans); it was a way of acknowledgement. “Thank you,” on the other hand, was not an acknowledgement of the other person; it was a statement about myself and how I understand life. To say “please” usually meant a request; to say
“thank you” was a response. Both demonstrated good manners.

Today is Veterans Day. And it is appropriate to say “Please” and “Thank you.” To all who have served the welfare of the nation, the values and principles so urgently important in human community, “Please” know that your efforts are not forgotten. And “Thank You” for demonstrating, not a claim of glory but a commitment to gratitude, for only profound gratitude produces the servant of community and nation. The next time someone says to you: “Thank you for your service” hear that last word clearly. It is an acknowledgement, not only of what you did, but of the deepest values that cause each of us to care for people and nation.