MEMORIAL DAY 2022

This is Memorial Day weekend. This at one time was a solemn, sacred time in our nation, dedicated to those who gave their lives so we could live the way we do. Those brave men and women, a whole lot braver than I and too many others, dedicated a part of their young lives to travel to far away places to fight and die against an unseen, unknown enemy who threatened the world, who tried to force their dictatorial will on the rest of us. It is for them that we have this time. For them, for the soldiers, farmers and statesmen who fought to establish this nation. For those who fought and died to preserve the Union. For them, we set aside one day in their honor. A nice thought.

We are now engaged in a period in this nation where these values have been sadly forgotten. In my mind, that disgraces the memory of all who have gone before us. We desperately need to remember our past, what we were, and how we got here. How they earned the rights we now enjoy and take for granted.

The Battle of Gettysburg

But imagine the world without this country. Imagine a world where the United States is not here to send millions of dollars in aid overseas. To send help to those starving or battling the effects of an earthquake, drought or famine. Imagine a world where we, the American people, are not a part. For the better part of a century we have been the planet’s “go-to” country and we have responded admirably. That is us. That is this country.

American Cemetery at Normandy Beach

So, I am asking you to take a few minutes this weekend to think of that. To say a short prayer for our American ancestors, without whom I cannot imagine a world. It annoys the hell out of me when I hear some people with the gall to refer to our forefathers as “misogynist jerk-faces,” as was recently stated on a national news channel. It annoys me when I see the disrespect, the hatred for which we stand. Sure, we are not perfect. We have a history, as every nation does, of times when we have a right to be disappointed. But on the whole, we are a nation of very generous people. A nation where we can live freely to grow and to prosper. We are a great experiment that has become a model for the rest of the world. That gives us a reason to celebrate, to be proud. That sets us apart.

Remember our past. Build on it. Learn from it. We are American. And from sea to shining sea we are the nation, the people, to which every other country on the planet aspires. Remember that this weekend.

“…that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Abraham Lincoln

November 19, 1863.

This is Memorial Day weekend. This at one time was a solemn, sacred time in our nation, dedicated to those who gave their lives so we could live the way we do. Those brave men and women, a whole lot braver than I and too many others, dedicated a part of their young lives to travel to far away places to fight and die against an unseen, unknown enemy who threatened the world, who tried to force their dictatorial will on the rest of us. It is for them that we have this time. For them, for the soldiers, farmers and statesmen who fought to establish this nation. For those who fought and died to preserve the Union. For them, we set aside one day in their honor. A nice thought.We are now engaged in a period in this nation where these values have been sadly forgotten. In my mind, that disgraces the memory of all who have gone before us. We desperately need to remember our past, what we were, and how we got here. How they earned the rights we now enjoy and take for granted.

Advertisement