Is more than just cookouts and
family gatherings
By Rod Eccles
It has been a long, cold, hard, and record
breaking winter. Spring got a late start in many parts of the country but
finally, the warmer summer weather is here. It is the unofficial – official
start to the summer season. It is Memorial Day and that is usually the kickoff
of all things summer.
Kids are eagerly
awaiting for that last day of class. Parents are making those last minute plans
for summer vacation. Resorts all over the country are gearing up for non-stop
guests. This is the time we gather in the neighborhood for grilling in the back
yard, on the deck or, if you live in the city or in an apartment building, cook
outs on the balcony. It seems we all find a way to cook outside and spend time
with family and friends. People in small towns gather on the town square or
throw a block BBQ. In short, we do what we do best. We act American on a day
such as this by eating hot dogs, hamburgers, BBQ chicken, potato salad apple
pie, and beer. Lots of beer.
But there is a bigger meaning behind this
particular day. Like with many of our major holidays, there is a bigger, a
deeper meaning.
Memorial Day has been observed on the last Monday
in the month of May since 1868 after the end of the American Civil War. The
Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans, established this
day for the nation to remember and decorate the graves of war dead with flowers.
The
key here is to “remember” the war dead of this great nation. Every single
soldier who gave their lives for this nation did so with the purpose of great
meaning and ideology. That ideology was that of liberty, freedom for their
family, their friends, their neighbors, their countrymen and their posterity. It
was a sacrifice that has no equal.
You see, they would not be
able to enjoy all that they fought and died for. They would not enjoy the BBQ
chicken and hot dogs and hamburgers. They would not see the cemeteries lined
with flags of the Union or the flowers that decorate their head stones. The war
dead would not get to share in the freedom in which they fought and died in
order to preserve. We not only have a duty to remember and thank them. It is our
obligation. A noble and sincere obligation that should not be taken lightly.
You see,
if they had not been willing to give the ultimate of sacrifices, you and I would
not have a holiday to celebrate the coming of summer. We would not enjoy the
parades. We would not have a day off from work and school. We would be serving
another master, another tyrant, another dictator, another king. None of whom
would give us a say in how we are governed or how we live.
Yes,
this is a short article. It is short because the notion is simple. On this day,
every day for sure, but on this day in particular, I implore you to remember
that you are American. And as Americans to revere and remember all those who
gave them the freedom to enjoy the backyard gatherings that we have grown to
love and cherish. What is more important than those gatherings is that we have
the liberty to gather without fear of the government breaking up the festivities
and throwing the hosts into dark jails shackled and chained.
On this
day, Memorial Day, all I can say is … REMEMBER.
Thank
you and God Bless America and God Bless all those who have
served.
No comments:
Post a Comment