Memorial Day Message 2017

Do you remember the times when you would see someone crossing a store parking lot, wearing one of those small, red poppies traditionally distributed by war veterans and sometimes assisted by local JROTC cadets for Memorial Day? It was a common sight during my youth and later adolescent life, but over the years, the poppies seemed to disappear as we Americans grew more nonchalant about combat deaths.

Memorial Day is the day we think of and honor the men and women who fought in conflicts for our and other’s freedom. They were people who wore the uniform of our nation and who were killed in the effort to rid the world of the ills of tyranny, authoritarian governments, and Islamic extremism.

To remember and honor the dead is an exquisite thought and a noble goal, but the question I present to the reader is: Do we really care? Has not America become blasé about almost everything? Do not too many people take our privileges and liberties for granted and appear more willing to negotiate them away? How do we explain to our war dead that we have taken their sacrifice for granted?

When we have politicians, who are all too eager to put themselves and their party first and thereby undermine the welfare of the people and the Constitution, we have betrayed the trust of our war dead. When we allow America to be invaded across our permeable borders, are we not betraying the trust of our war dead?  When we allow politicians to cover-up the truth about an attack on the mission in Benghazi are we not betraying the war dead? When politicians allow law enforcement and municipalities to ignore federal immigration law, are we not betraying the trust of our war dead?

It is this blogger’s opinion; many in America, to include politicians and institutions have broken faith with our war dead. We have, for the most part forgotten them, and they are not resting in peace. Their deaths should haunt us forever.

Dare I cease this diatribe on conscience? I could go on but choose to close with these hollowed words:

“Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place…We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields...”