The Memorial of Memorial Day
Happy Weekend friends!!!! It was a long week for some of us and I must say, we "deserve" this weekend don't we? Of course it's a long weekend; one set aside to remember those who have served our country. More specifically for me, Memorial Day isn't so much about those of us who serve, but those who have shed blood or more strikingly paid the ultimate price for our freedom.
Freedom is probably the one thing we take most for granted in America. We take it so much for granted that it doesn't really seem to matter. We abuse the heck out of it in our insatiable appetite as a nation to demand crazier and crazier behavior from our politicians, athletes, and entertainers. And the media is all too happy to show us exactly what we want in its never-ending 24/7, 2,000 cable channel news cycle. Our voracious appetite for more and more sensational news, more and more morally corrupt behavior, humans at their worst, is reminiscent of Romans at the Colliseum cheering on as human beings were torn apart by animals or tortured by guards for their pleasure. Sometimes I wonder if we have matured at all as a people since then.
But when I really want to believe the worst in us, I come across an old veteran and strike up a conversation. They tell me about when they were young men and their exploits in World War II and Korea. They tell me about their buddies who didn't return and how much they loved this country. I talk to a Vietnam vet, and she tells me about serving her country as a nurse and cringing every time she heard a helicopter because she knew it was full of dozens of men, injured beyond recognition. Men too young to have a drink in a local sports bar in the states, but old enough to die for their country half a world away. I talk to a vet from Bosnia or Kosovo, from Iraq or Afghanistan, and they tell me about unspeakable attrocities they saw befall on the peoples of those countries to brutal regimes. Regimes which punish a man for speaking out against injustice. Regimes which rape and stone a woman on the street for sport because someone alleged they didn't wear a piece of cloth appropriately. These veterans tell me about the things they did, the atrocities they helped avoid. The lives they saved. And sadly, the brothers and sisters they lost while helping other people gain the basic freedoms we abuse every single day here in America.
When I speak to these heroes and when I think of their brothers and sisters whose voices were silenced I am filled with sadness yet I overflow with pride. Pride in the selfless service of ordinary Americans from the tough streets of New York City, to the mining towns of Pennsylvania. From well-to-do families in Chicago to the ghettos of Los Angeles. From every corner of this great nation of ours. Men and women willing to stand up and look evil in the eye and say "not on my watch". These are America's heroes and the men and women who pay the price of freedom with their blood. They have always done so, since the infancy of our nation and they will always do so when called upon to serve.
This weekend we'll sleep-in or maybe head out early to beaches and cabins or theme parks. We'll barbecue and drink. We'll talk about summer plans with friend and families. We'll do a whole lot of all of it.
I hope as busy as you are, you take just a moment to remember your freedom's billpayers and give those who paid the ultimate price or were seriously wounded a warm regard. And I hope you spend a moment reminding your children, our next generation, why we have this holiday and why it is important. For if our humanity is to be worth something, there is no greater value than to be appreciative to those who provide you and your children with the comfort of freedom, and the blanket of liberty, than a simple thank you, and a warm regard.
Freedom is probably the one thing we take most for granted in America. We take it so much for granted that it doesn't really seem to matter. We abuse the heck out of it in our insatiable appetite as a nation to demand crazier and crazier behavior from our politicians, athletes, and entertainers. And the media is all too happy to show us exactly what we want in its never-ending 24/7, 2,000 cable channel news cycle. Our voracious appetite for more and more sensational news, more and more morally corrupt behavior, humans at their worst, is reminiscent of Romans at the Colliseum cheering on as human beings were torn apart by animals or tortured by guards for their pleasure. Sometimes I wonder if we have matured at all as a people since then.
But when I really want to believe the worst in us, I come across an old veteran and strike up a conversation. They tell me about when they were young men and their exploits in World War II and Korea. They tell me about their buddies who didn't return and how much they loved this country. I talk to a Vietnam vet, and she tells me about serving her country as a nurse and cringing every time she heard a helicopter because she knew it was full of dozens of men, injured beyond recognition. Men too young to have a drink in a local sports bar in the states, but old enough to die for their country half a world away. I talk to a vet from Bosnia or Kosovo, from Iraq or Afghanistan, and they tell me about unspeakable attrocities they saw befall on the peoples of those countries to brutal regimes. Regimes which punish a man for speaking out against injustice. Regimes which rape and stone a woman on the street for sport because someone alleged they didn't wear a piece of cloth appropriately. These veterans tell me about the things they did, the atrocities they helped avoid. The lives they saved. And sadly, the brothers and sisters they lost while helping other people gain the basic freedoms we abuse every single day here in America.
When I speak to these heroes and when I think of their brothers and sisters whose voices were silenced I am filled with sadness yet I overflow with pride. Pride in the selfless service of ordinary Americans from the tough streets of New York City, to the mining towns of Pennsylvania. From well-to-do families in Chicago to the ghettos of Los Angeles. From every corner of this great nation of ours. Men and women willing to stand up and look evil in the eye and say "not on my watch". These are America's heroes and the men and women who pay the price of freedom with their blood. They have always done so, since the infancy of our nation and they will always do so when called upon to serve.
This weekend we'll sleep-in or maybe head out early to beaches and cabins or theme parks. We'll barbecue and drink. We'll talk about summer plans with friend and families. We'll do a whole lot of all of it.
I hope as busy as you are, you take just a moment to remember your freedom's billpayers and give those who paid the ultimate price or were seriously wounded a warm regard. And I hope you spend a moment reminding your children, our next generation, why we have this holiday and why it is important. For if our humanity is to be worth something, there is no greater value than to be appreciative to those who provide you and your children with the comfort of freedom, and the blanket of liberty, than a simple thank you, and a warm regard.
Well said, my friend.
ReplyDeleteYes sir :) thanks for the reminder -Carmen Lourdes
ReplyDeleteThanks for your service. My stepfather served in Vietnam. I wrote this for him:
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/64au22b