Happy Veterans Day in America, 2025

The words “socialism “and “communism” have been used frequently lately; their true meanings have been lost in the process as they have become pejoratives against those with whom we disagree. Perhaps no better example of this is the legacy of FDR, a man reviled by most of my colleagues on the right as a socialist who damaged America. I consider myself a moderate Republican, and my liberal friends and I have many differences and disagreements. Still, we are united in our love for our military veterans, past and present. As Veterans Day approaches, it’s time for an honest conversation that cuts through all the obstacles and presents things as they truly are.

Eighty years ago, at the height of World War II, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and a courageous Congress made a promise to the men and women who wore our nation’s uniform. They said that when you come home, you will not be forgotten, and that your service will be repaid not with words alone, but with opportunity, dignity, and a fair shot at the American Dream.

That promise became the G.I. Bill of Rights, one of the most visionary pieces of legislation in our nation’s history. It built the American middle class. It turned soldiers into homeowners, students, and business owners. It didn’t just say “thank you for your service”, it built the future in your name. In the decades since, that promise has faded.

Today, in the United States, we have veterans sleeping on the streets of the country they defended. We have men and women who can pilot drones halfway around the world but can’t get a medical appointment in their own hometown. We have young veterans eager to build, teach, and create, but who face bureaucratic walls instead of open doors.

It’s time to renew that promise of 1944. It’s time for a New Deal 2.0 for our military veterans.

We are the heirs of a promise made in 1944 — a promise that service to America would be repaid with opportunity, not neglect. It is time to keep that promise again. We should not measure our gratitude with parades or speeches, but rather in homes built, degrees earned, businesses started, and lives rebuilt through a new plan for American military personnel that is befitting of today’s modern world. A grateful nation should not forget its defenders. A great nation should invest in them. Republicans and Democrats must stop the trend of cutting services for veterans and passing along whatever services remain to be funded by the American people.

Together, we must do better for those who have served and for future generations. Remember, just because a pundit wears an American flag pin on the lapel of his suit jacket and uses words like “patriot” doesn’t mean he cares about the fate of our veterans. To all my military veteran friends, we are indebted to you. Thank you for your service. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.