On Monday, May 30, 2016, a holiday will be among us where about 70% of the country will sit down with friends and family and get drunk and eat too much food. Many will take in the weekend sales on appliances and cars. The rest will step back and observe the day in the way it was intended, a day of remembering. The way it should be.
When did we become so commercialized when it comes to these holidays? Especially the ones where men and women lost their lives, where is the patriotism in a holiday sales ad? Oh because it’s in red, white and blue, gotcha. People will argue that it’s those privileges that we are entitled to have because they died for our freedom. Hate to burst your bubble but that is not the freedom they died for.
We take advantage of Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, Independence Day (The 4th of July, in case you were wondering…seems people who live in the United States do not realize they are the same), and others due to countless of folks having to give their lives so we can have freedom. Where we pretty much shit on those heroes, many forget or just don’t care, but they care enough to displace their brains and go crazy in a department store for the best deals.
Remember when America was attacked on September 11, 2001? How patriotic we became? Stores couldn’t keep up with demand for US Flags, or anything that was red, white and blue. It seemed to dwindle or phase out as soon as it started…America didn’t care about the men and women (and children) who died that day very long because we had better things to think about, it was September, soon it will be Christmas, have to buy out the malls to get our deals…but what about the husbands who aren’t there to share the holiday with his family, or the Moms who died who are to make the festive feasts, and those pitter patter of barefooted kids that are normally heard stampeding down the stairs on Christmas morning, what about their Christmases, where are their sale items?
We all tend to forget, I have forgotten, you have too…but we are reminded every time a sale paper comes in the mailbox.
What is Memorial Day and why do we celebrate it?
(excerpts of this is taken from *http://www.va.gov/)
*Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.
The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.
*In 1966, Congress and President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, N.Y., the “birthplace” of Memorial Day. There, a ceremony on May 5, 1866, honored local veterans who had fought in the Civil War. Businesses closed and residents flew flags at half-staff. Supporters of Waterloo’s claim say earlier observances in other places were either informal, not community-wide or one-time events.
*By the end of the 19th century, Memorial Day ceremonies were being held on May 30 throughout the nation. State legislatures passed proclamations designating the day, and the Army and Navy adopted regulations for proper observance at their facilities. It was not until after World War I, however, that the day was expanded to honor those who have died in all American wars. In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by an act of Congress, though it is still often called Decoration Day. It was then also placed on the last Monday in May, as were some other federal holidays.
*The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation. As Moment of Remembrance founder Carmella LaSpada states: “It’s a way we can all help put the memorial back in Memorial Day.”
Freedom.
There is a cost, it’s not free. You have to pay for it. But many take that freedom and turn it against each other.
The freedom that heroes died for…heroes? Superheroes? Like Superman? Not quite, they were super men and women…they believed that they were powerful than a locomotive, or able to leap tall buildings, but were not faster than a speeding bullet, as these bullets, ripped through their flesh and bones. Bullets, bombs and various other death traps since the Civil War have taken out our Superheroes. Everyday, whether here in the states or overseas, a hero is born. They come in all shapes and sizes, race, color, sex and all different in their character. But once donned in a combat uniform, they become one…no matter what branch of the military…they fight together for one thing….
Our definition of a hero has been ripped into new categories over the years. A hero (masculine or gender-neutral) or heroine (feminine) is a person who, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, displays courage or self-sacrifice. A hero rushes into a burning building to save victims of terrorism or they save a child from drowning in a raging river..and without hesitation they throw themselves on a grenade to save lives of his or her fellow soldiers.
Do you get it? Do you understand what our freedoms entail, do you know why you have them? When you celebrate your holiday Monday, don’t just drink that beer or chew on those burgers, stop by your local cemetery, or shake the hand of a veteran, and since many are on the streets today, buy them a meal and give thanks.