Now that the business of the Memorial Day weekend has ended, it is good to take a breath and reflect on why it is such an important time of year. Too often, the tradition is losing its meaning because neither its rationale nor its purpose has been taught or handed down for many years. Even older individuals who should know better have barely noticed the sacrifices men and women have made to the country by giving their lives for the freedoms we enjoy.
Recently, a positive trend is emerging: many conservatives are revisiting the meaning of the day, not just as a holiday and a day off from work, but with appreciation for those who served in our armed forces.
Tragically, we live in a world that is all too familiar with international violence. Somewhere, there always seems to be wars breaking out between countries and even internally among citizens. Our Civil War, the deadliest the country has faced, took over 620,000 lives. The carnage was so high and the effects on families so great that the need to memorialize these soldiers by adorning their graves with flowers came to be known as Decoration Day.
After the Great War (World War I), the name was changed to Memorial Day. In 1971, Memorial Day became a national holiday and included all the wars American citizens fought in.
When a country goes to war, the elite of society are not the ones who defend the homeland. It is the ordinary men and women who live in your neighborhood who take up the burden. In times past, they were drafted by the government, but now they volunteer, knowing the possibility of dying is real. Let this sink in. Men and women are willing to sacrifice their lives for you. “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
The bravery and commitment of these heroic individuals can never be forgotten or minimized. Although for some segments of our society, the sacrifice goes unnoticed and even mocked. The anarchist strain in our country has no aversion to violence, only to freedom. Not one of them would ever consider enlisting in the armed forces because their interest is not in saving democracy, but rather in eliminating it. The American version of communism revels in violence for change, but has no time to consider that the only reason they can spew evil is the brave women and men who gave their lives for these despicable people. The irony is that the cost of freedom is allowing all types to do as they will, and the ultimate cost of freedom is human life, which, unfortunately, must be sacrificed for it to exist at all.
The gift these heroic individuals gave all of us is meant to be enjoyed, but not without thanks. Life does go on, but it should never be taken for granted. The fragility of human life is apparent when reflecting on the sacrifice of our past defenders whose lives were ended so prematurely. If anything, Memorial Day should remind a self-absorbed society that the freedom to do as one pleases has a price, and the spilled blood of others often paid that price during the nation’s wars.
We must give those fallen heroes our respect and gratitude and, by doing so, learn what it means to be part of something greater than ourselves, for it will always be thus in a world where evil exists.