We say "Remember", but so often it feels as though we don't.
Memorial Day, originally in remembrance of Civil War dead, is now the "Unofficial Beginning of Summer."
Veterans Day, formerly Armistice Day, or Remembrance Day as it is known in other countries, has become the new start of the Holiday shopping season ("Get a Headstart on the Thanksgiving Weekend Holiday Sales").
This is okay; life goes on as it was meant to.
VA Secretary Jim Nichols suggests that if we wore our medals and ribbons all day as veterans do in other countries it might make society more aware of our presence among them and of our contributions. My sense is that the gesture would be lost on nearly everyone except our brothers and sisters in uniform and their loved ones.
In the U.S.A, we do what we do... or what we did... for however long, and then the more fortunate of us just try to get on with our lives; and that, too, is as it should be. Whatever brought us into the military, I've never met anyone who joined in order to be remembered on Veterans Day.
Still, it would be nice if people would take a moment today on their way to Macy's to remember that none of this came for free.
4 comments:
So, you had me by the heart strings, and then you had to print In Flander's fields and now my glasses are steaming.
Yes, the re-scheduling of special days to create long 3 day weekends, commercialization of holidays, does not seem to contribute much to the spirit of the occasions. I expect those who want to honor the veterans will whenever the day of acknowledgement, and others will just go about their business.
Thanks AQ, so much for the war to end all wars, imagine how life would be if the only Veterans were the people from that war. What a though!
Post a Comment