Today we celebrate one of our most important holidays in America, and that is Memorial Day. A day that is usually marked by weekend festivities such as family cookouts, the opening of community swimming pools, boating, and a nice long 3-day weekend to usher in the official start of Summer. Some towns even host parades and other ceremonies to remind us of the significance of this day. Many people choose to visit the graves of their loved ones and place flowers or a wreath in remembrance. Everyone loves to celebrate the long weekend, but how many of us really understand the origin of the holiday?
Memorial Day was formerly known as Decoration Day, and it was a day set aside to honor those we lost during the Civil War. As time went on, we know that the United States went on to fight in two world wars, the Lorean War, The Vietnam War, and the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which stated that Memorial Day would always be celebrated on the last Monday in the month of May, and declared it a federal holiday.
While time spent enjoying the company of family and friends is always time well spent, it’s important to take a moment to reflect on why we are even free to have this holiday to begin with. People we never knew fought for it. They made the greatest sacrifice they could make for people they will never meet. They laid down their lives in their brave and valiant fights to preserve freedom and save our country from those who wish us harm. And not just to save our country, but as history shows us, to save other countries as well and make the world a better place.
I look at my sons and can’t imagine sending them off to battle, yet every day, parents in this country kiss their children goodbye and wish them Godspeed as they voluntarily choose to follow in the paths of the heroes who serve this country. We pray that God bless them and keep them safe and return them to their families.
In a time when our patriotism is being questioned, when burning the flag and kneeling are often seen as “courageous”, may we remember what true courage is. Today we honor those who laid down their lives for the greater good. May we never forget them. May we always salute our beautiful flag and all that it represents, including those who have died for it. May our schools return to teaching a love of country and The Pledge of Allegiance so that our children and grandchildren will grow up with a sense of love and respect for our freedoms we so conveniently take for granted. Freedom isn’t free, and a youth that does not understand their history will not be willing to defend it if called upon to do so.
May we always be “One Nation, Under God, indivisible, with Liberty & Justice for all!”
Let us go out there, Fearlessly, Faithfully, and Unapologetically show our patriotism for this great country!
