Veterans Day can get real Hallmark-ish, real fast. The flags. The ceremonies. “Thank you for your service.” And yes, gratitude absolutely matters. But if we’re going to honor veterans, then let’s honor actual veterans as whole people.

Some veterans are queer. Some are trans. Some are neurodivergent. Some are disabled. Some are all of those things at once. Putting on a uniform does not magically delete somebody’s queerness, disability, neurodivergence, or pronouns. That is not how fabric works. Military service does not erase identity.

And I think this matters for parents, too, because the queer, neurodivergent, and disabled kids we’re raising right now will eventually become adults. They become teachers. Parents. Artists. Engineers. Veterans. They grow up.

So when we talk about protecting kids, we are not protecting some temporary version of them until adulthood arrives and suddenly none of this matters anymore. We are helping shape the conditions they will carry into adult life. And for veterans especially, respect should not require somebody to flatten themselves into one acceptable story. If we mean it when we say we honor veterans, then we have to honor the whole person who served. Not the edited version that makes everybody else more comfortable.

So today, I want to specifically recognize queer veterans, trans veterans, disabled veterans, and neurodivergent veterans. Thank you for your service. And thank you for being fully yourselves, too.

That’s all for now. For more, please visit rainbowrootsmedia.com. And don’t forget to take good care of yourself today.