Lest We Forget

Ah! A Holiday. Celebrated in many ways. A cookout. Beach day. Day trip. Sports event. Shopping the sales. Visiting the family plot at the cemetery. Perhaps a parade, but those are getting fewer and smaller. As are the realities of what this holiday was meant to be.

Originally called "Decoration Day," the holiday was designed to commemorate and remember the ultimate sacrifice of those who fought to preserve our way of life. Families of fallen soldiers would decorate their graves with flowers, remembering them as people who once walked among us, and honoring them for their service.

We are the greatest nation in the world. People go to great lengths to come here. I'll bet if you could survey the entire world population, most would love to live here. And yet there are so many who live here who trash this country and our way of life. Talk about our consumerism. Talk about our greed. Talk about how we don't do this and don't do that. Talk about how we should be like those very same countries that people flee from to come here. And at the extreme talk about how we should protest, revolt, ignore the law and engage in civil disobedience. Most people who talk this way disdain our military muscle and might. The very muscle and might that creates a society where they can say what they please due to those very people they disdain and disrespect who sacrificed so they would have the freedom to say what they wish in this great country. Say and do things they know in other countries would bring them sanctions, punishment and even death.

With the elimination of the draft fewer families are concerned with the military. Fewer families watch what is happening on the world stage and worry that one of their own might be called to serve. Many families no longer relate to the sacrifices made even by those who were drafted and gave up two years of their lives, even if only to serve in a non-combat environment.

I'm having difficulty writing this as I have some personal experiences in this area. And I find that I could vent and rant about this all day. But that is not my intention. So let me close today by saying thank you to those I knew who never came back. And thank you to those I knew who did their duty and returned home. And thank you to all who served in the past, and to all who serve now. But especially on this day, a special thank you, remembrance and prayer for all who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our way of life.