On Memorial Day, Honoring Military Service and Sacrifice

On Memorial Day, Honoring Military Service and Sacrifice

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The holiday is a time to remember those who died for their country. Washington, D.C., has a number of armed forces memorials.

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But what are we remembering?

Tomorrow; the 25th of May, is Memorial day. It is the day we as a nation have chosen to remember those who have served and survived... and more importantly those who served and returned home maimed or never made it back at all... those whom we say made the ultimate sacrifice for their nation.

They, we... I can say that because I am a proud veteran... did not serve to uphold a right wing ideology... nor did we serve to uphold a liberal one either. Such distinctions are meaningless when you are in uniform. Those are distinctions that civilians have the freedom to make. When you serve either as a civilian in the government or as a service person in uniform we are supposed to put politics aside and serve not a party or ideology but the nation. It is one of the strokes of genius the framers of the Constitution... they separated the military from the body politic of our nation... so we don't see as we do in other nations... the military taking over the government. And, this is good.

We served, some harrowed the gates of hell, others bled and died to uphold an ideal... not an ideology. We served to uphold the American ideal that we are a just nation, that we are a nation of laws and that they mean something... not what some ruler says that they do. We served to uphold our freedoms... freedoms that we have unfortunately honored more in their absence sometimes than in their application... but still the ideal is there.

The ideal that says a person can speak their mind without fear... that we can disagree and still be loyal, patriotic Americans, that we can as Voltaire so succinctly said..."I may disagree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."...And that freedom is at the heart of the American way of life. Years ago I attended my first New England town meeting. I asked an old farmer what was going to happen and he said: "You have the right to say anything you want... and I have the right to tell you that you're a damned fool."

Here on ATS there are a lot of heart felt passions and opinions and sometimes they are expressed rather strongly. We are all; myself included, guilty of it. But there is one thing that we have to remember is that freedom of expression is at the heart of our system and a person can be a truly devoted American and patriot, can love their nation and wish it well, can at the end of the day believe in the same ideals as their political polar opposite... regardless of political inclinations. We can express our political opinions regardless and still be good citizens.

This is what our brave men and women have served, fought and died for and it does them a grave disservice when we forget that no one side has a monopoly on love of country and patriotism... we as a nation is greater, more expansive and open than that narrowness of vision.

Honor them by putting aside petty ideological differences and be first and foremost good Americans and respect even those who disagree with you because if we ever lose that essential freedom, we will have lost the soul of our nation.

Peace on this Memorial day.

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(visit the link for the full news article)

The American dream... the dream that our brave men and women fight, get maimed and die for is far more than just having your own home...

It is a dream that embraces both individuality and community...

... and both a giant welfare state and a giant corporate state are the antithesis of, and the murderers that dream.

[edit on 25-5-2009 by grover]

Amen. All I can say is, those of you who will get on here and bash the military, show thanks for those who voluntarily died in vain for others' stupidity so you weren't conscripted in their place. That's one thing we can be thankful for.

Memorial Day is a very special day for me. One day it will be a day for me, too. But I am not special. I just did my job and came back alive. And I will die of old age. My great great grandfather was a Civil War hero. He lived in New Alexandria, Pennsylvania. He had a wife and children. He was older, not a young man. But the old guy sure could produce some children at an older age. lol. He was given a pass to go home to visit hisn family. He spent a couple days at his farm. And as he was eating his breakfast a rider came and was alerting all the farmer soldiers in the area that their regiment was to report immediately and muster in an area nearby. So great great grandpappy James Gundy quickly put on his gear and took his musket, kissed his dear wife goodbye and hugged his many children and started off at a brisk pace towards the muster area. His youngest son, my great granddaddy, just a boy of 3, ran after him crying and screaming, "Papa, please don't go!" And my great great granddaddy stopped, told him to go home and take care of his mother and turned andn walked quickly to destiny. The little boy yelled he loved him. And James Gundy called back over his shoulder, "I love you, too!" And his family never saw him alive again. Note he never said, "I will be back." I think he knew his fate. And later that day, he ran into a wall of little pieces of lead fired from Confederate guns. He was hit with a bullet in the face and fell over dead. Then next day his wife came with a wagon and a mule and her kids and they retrieved his body and took him home to the family farm to be cleaned and clothed in his finest and buried. My first name is the same as him, named to honor him. And eventually I was a volunteer for my country, too. But when I left for my war, I told my wife and kids, "I will be back." And I not only believed it, I just knew it. And so tomorrow I will go visit the dead as I do most every year and think not only about my great great granddaddy, I will think about all the veterans in the graves I pass and I will wonder what their stories are. And as always I will cry like a big baby for their sacrifices and their families' sacrifices. And as I have done for the last quite a few years, I will wonder if it was all worth this crap. And I have no doubt that I will stop on my wanderings through the graves and scream to the sky, "Why???????" And maybe one day someone else will pass by my grave and ask, no, demand, the same. "Whyyyyyyyyyyyy?? WTF is this crap all about?" And maybe I might be able to speak from the grave to this person, as my great great grand daddy sometimes does to me. "It's just the way of the world. Seek a better way."

I just want to say I see such years a few times a year
every year I decide to not participate in the thread and let people "rejoice"

Today i thought, nah not this time
but knwo I did every other year

So let me apologize for me responding this year in advance.

Originally posted by grover
We served to uphold the American ideal that we are a just nation, that we are a nation of laws and that they mean something... not what some ruler says that they do. We served to uphold our freedoms... freedoms that we have unfortunately honored more in their absence sometimes than in their application... but still the ideal is there.

Laws don't mean anything
Laws mean something when those that send you to war lose 7 trillion dollars out of thin air? Laws mean somethign whey they advocate secret prisons, FIAT(counterfeiting) subsized illegal invasions and occupation which leads to loss of american freedoms and increase of terroism, more oil but still higher oil prices?

Actually today wars are fought because of what a ruler is saying

Originally posted by grover
The ideal that says a person can speak their mind without fear... that we can disagree and still be loyal, patriotic Americans, that we can as Voltaire so succinctly said..."I may disagree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."...And that freedom is at the heart of the American way of life.

Voltaire also said: "All fiat currencies eventually return to their intrensic value- zero".

This is his quote that you should pay more attention to.

And you cant' disagree without fear lol, how man people here on ats have a naggin suspicion that they are on some list for 'disagreeing"?

Well said grover. This is from a Canadian artist but it rings true for any that have served anywhere. It's a true story of a man that wouldn't observe a 2 minute silence for the vets. Kelly wrote this song about it. Get the Kleenex, you'll need it.

Nice video Intrepid, unfortunately and as history has shown us, humans have an uncanny way of forgetting what they now take for granted.


edit: *an


usafssmisawa.com...

[edit on 24-5-2009 by tristar]

reply to post by tristar


I am thankful for anyone that stands up for the US Constitution. I am also thankful I was not ever exposed to a draft. I have many many friends and relatives that have served and I will strive for the rest of my life to leave a better human society for future life.

reply to post by mandroid




In the event that my thumbs up is miss interpreted " They Served In Silence"

[edit on 24-5-2009 by tristar]

reply to post by grover


Well said

Thank you and all the others that served this country and helped to preserve it's freedoms.

reply to post by intrepid


You were right a kleenex was needed.

Unfortunately there are many that don't see fit to honor the men and women that served, even with something so simple as a moment of silence

Nice vid, intrepid

Thanks everybody... it is not so much the actualization of our ideals that make them so important and worth defending and dying for... no nation could live up to them and most don't even try...

What our ideals do make is us... our ideals have shaped us as a people and that is more important. They have molded our character and as proof of that is the oft heard refrain overseas that the people (regardless of nation) don't like our government and what it does in our name... but we Americans and our culture is another matter all together.

My government does not inspire anything in me besides disgust and outrage but the ideals I was raised with, the American ideal, the hope and dream that we represent... that is something different.

No one is ever inspired to fight and die for a government. But the dreams and hopes that inspire you, the dreams and ideals you hold most closely in the back of your mind and motivate your life... to defend that, you will fight like hell.

[edit on 25-5-2009 by grover]

If American culture is the result of such "ideals" ... perhaps we should rethink the whole damn thing...

reply to post by The Last Man on Earth


It is not the ideals that are the issue... as I said earlier... the ideals are what our service people fight and die for and what all good people strive to uphold...

Its a government who thinks that the ends justify the means and it is the extremes... the false choice hawked by some between a giant welfare state or a giant corporate state that are the antithesis of those ideals.

[edit on 25-5-2009 by grover]

Thank you Grover...


Yes I too served.


I will be keeping my eyes on the ensign today.

Thank you to all who have served who have family who is serving...

reply to post by grover


Please, everyone who is a US citizen, take a few moments to remember who has provided your freedom. If you have children, before you let them swim or go play, take a moment to teach them what this day means.

It is important that we, as a nation, remember who has woven the blanket of freedom which shelters us. We cannot forget our countrymen and women who paid the ultimate price for us, for our future.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/a518456984de.gif[/atsimg]

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/b084d250fbce.jpg[/atsimg]

God Bless America!!!

[edit on 25-5-2009 by bigfatfurrytexan]

Too often and too young. They have sacrificed that which so many take for granted, a life given in battle, a number, a statistic, too often without a name or face, a uniform, a flag draped coffin trapped for eternity in dirt. Can the forgotten ever be truly remembered and honored as they should be?

Placing his game controller on a table, he grabbed his gear and said "I gotta get going" ... Off to war in Iraq this young man went, and gave it all.

God bless him, and all who have paid the ultimate price for our country.

Bless the families, friends and loved ones of all who have joined the ranks of the departed from this world and now reside in the afterlife.



*salutes*

Years ago now after bush minor and company turned the tragedy of 9/11 into a tool to smear their opponents with and hawk a bogus invasion with... I took down my American flag, quietly folded it and put it away in my closet...

In its place I fly an earth flag.

I may be a citizen of the United States and yes I love her very much... and hope and pray that someday she may live up to her ideals... ideals that I believe very strongly in... but I am also a citizen of the world and I am shamed by our cavalier behavior.

Earth is our home and we are all its citizen and when we as a nation start behaving in a responsible manner as opposed to behaving like a spoiled and selfish brat...

... then and only then will I proudly fly it again.

I love my country... I do not love my government and what it does in our name... I would die to protect my country... I would not die to protect any aspect of our government.

[edit on 25-5-2009 by grover]