And on that day, it is my hope that the reply will go something like this:

"Well, child, a veteran is someone who stood up for what was right and protected the ideals of freedom and equality for all. You see, it wasn't always that those things were truly guaranteed for everyone... happily those things don't need to be defended anymore because no one attacks them. But we should never forget the lesson in that: that just because something is taken for granted today doesn't mean that it truly is granted for free, and so we should appreciate and be thankful for every moment of those freedoms that we have, and for the people that worked so hard to make sure that things are the way they are today."