I opened last night’s Council meeting with this.

We’re going to do something a little different tonight. We’ll be having the Boy Scouts of Troop 321 lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. But first I want to share something else.

Philosophers and historians describe peace as an ideal whose existence we deduce from the pauses between wars. We pray for peace…but we prepare for conflict because, unfortunately, it’s part of the human condition. Not all differences can be settled amicably, or through negotiation, because while it requires two to communicate, it only takes one to pick a fight.

Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day, when we honor those who put themselves between our nation and war’s desolation. We are opening tonight’s meeting in honor of all those brave men and women who stood ready, and stood up, to defend us.

When you say the pledge, remember them, and all the men and women currently serving in our armed services, who helped make it possible for those words to mean something.