| Yes, folks, it's that time of
the year again ... a time when we all should be remembering those
who fought for America. Funny, isn't it, how many people choose
to remember our fallen. Nothing says "thank you for my freedom"
like a barbecue or a day at the lake or a shoe sale. I can
visualize it now ... General Washington taking another boat ride
on the Delaware, this time with smoked turkey legs on board, or
better yet, other war heroes, such as my grandfather, hitting the
stores, since he knows that the reason he and his fellow soldiers
fought was not to stave off a crazy dictator named Hitler, but to
allow others the various discounts the stores have to
offer.
If what I have just said has
infuriated some of you, then I know there is some hope for our
country, for only those who truly care about America and those
who have fought for her would find something wrong with the way
Memorial Day (and even Veterans' Day) is celebrated. Then again,
we are the same people who realize that every day is Memorial
Day. We don't need a government mandated day to recognize all the
sacrifices that generations before us have made. I am not saying
that a memorial day is not needed ... it is important to this
country to have a Memorial Day, a Veteran's Day, an Independence
Day, and even a Flag Day. I am just sickened that the way in
which these important days are celebrated is not the way they
should be. We should be thanking those who fought in wars, we
should take a moment to reflect on those who dared to stand up
and fight for our independence, and more importantly, we should
not be taking our freedom for granted.
In a university speech class
that I took a few years ago, everyone was required to give a ten
minute speech that was supposed to arouse interest and stir
people into action. I chose to give my speech over how and why
most Americans take their freedom for granted, and why that is
dangerous. I knew beforehand that I faced a tough audience ... my
teacher's assistant (who graded the speeches) was an ignorant,
apathetic person (she marked off on one of my papers because I
used a word, apropos, that she had never heard of before), and
most of my classmates were frat/sorority people who prided
themselves more on drinking, partying, and bleaching their hair
than on being an American. In fact, I believe the Dutch guy in
the class was more sympathetic towards my speech than anyone
else. It still bothers me to this day that there are many people
like them in this country, people who are more concerned with
finding a bargain on Memorial Day than they are with remembering
our fallen and what they have provided us with.
I quite realize that I sound
very harsh, and that I come across as someone who has little
faith in the American people. Granted, there are many people out
there who still care about America and those who fought to make
her a nation and to keep her free, and who do not take freedom or
other liberties for granted. However, until the day comes that
the (apparent) number of people who know and act out the true
meaning of Memorial Day outweighs the (apparent) number of people
who really don't care, then I will not rest peacefully. Perhaps
this sounds a little severe, but I for one am dang proud of being
an American (but an American who is aware of world happenings). I
hope the same can be said of you.
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