The "why" of Memorial Day.
Why do we gather here today? Many forget what today truly means. We view it as a day where many of us enjoy a day off of work, a day with our families, perhaps having a BBQ or watching a movie with our families and, for many, the start of summer vacation. The name for today has changed a few times throughout the history of our nation, from Dedication Day in 1868, to only recently in 1970 the name we recognize today as Memorial Day. It is not a day for Veterans, or those currently serving, but rather for those who have given their lives to this great nation.
This is the day we pay homage to all those who didn’t come home. This is not Veterans Day, it’s not a celebration, it is a day of solemn contemplation over the cost of freedom.
Throughout history the brave men and women of our country have raised their right hand, and have taken an oath, that never expires, to protect our great nation from enemies both foreign and domestic, and with that oath they have given our nation its greatest asset - a blank check made payable to "The United States of America," for an amount of "up to and including THEIR LIVES."
Our Veterans who gave it all had a belief that is best said in the words of General Patton
“It's better to fight for something in life than to die for nothing.”
For love of country, they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and immortalized their patriotism and their virtue.
See we wouldn't be standing here today, we would not be able to enjoy the truly AWE inspiring freedoms that we have today if men and woman had not taken that oath before us and paid for those rights with blood, from the battles of Lexington and Concord, to Pearl Harbor and Iwo Jima, D-Day, and to the wars fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.
We have rights that we all, to casually take for granted – rights that many in the world do not enjoy. In all other countries, the collective rights of the nation have been established as primary, and the rights of its individual citizens as secondary. The founding fathers of the United States flipped this notion on its head - identifying and implementing the principles that the purpose of government is to secure individual rights and that governments derive their powers from the consent of the governed.
Those rights we take for granted every day are precious and all the more so precious when we remember that not only do people of other nations do not have them, but that we do for the sole reason that American patriots died to give you those rights. You have, for example, the right to a fair trial, the right to pray to whom you want to, or to not pray at all. We enjoy unfettered access to information, the ability to travel, to vote, to start a business, even to post photos on Instagram that elsewhere in the world would literally get one imprisoned, if not, killed. In one country, it is even illegal to chew gum! In America we believe all persons are created equal and all have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
These “rights” are not FREE; however. This freedom is not FREE.
The enemy is at our door and always will be because we, as the United States of America, are a beacon of hope and freedom that many wish to see in their own countries. There are those foreign governments, who wish to oppress and control their people, that HATE that we are that beacon of hope, that HATE that we are that pillar of FREEDOM in the world. As G.K Chesterton, the English writer, philosopher and lay theologian, said,
“Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die."
Courage is exemplified by those who have given the ultimate sacrifice, by those who were ready to die for YOU, to protect your opinions, your liberty, your life.
So take today to honor those courageous men and women. Remember what your freedom costs. Its cost cannot be calculated in so many words or speeches. Its cost cannot be calculated in terms of money. But rather, its cost is measured in something much more valuable, blood. It is the blood of a Father, a Mother, a Son or Daughter that ALLOWS us to be here today, to have this day off to spend with our families. To have the ability to do as we please, say what we want and to have the right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
It is our responsibility to remind ourselves, our children and those around us that we are those who have long enjoyed such privileges. Let us not forget in time that men & women have died to win these privileges for us. So let us not forget, the ultimate price paid.
Let us be vigilant in the preservation of these freedoms that were so difficult to win and secure. As a Veteran myself I have had my brothers and sisters die to protect these truths, these freedoms. And many have been scarred from the toll of fighting for these freedoms, and have lost the battle of fighting the demons of the trauma even after they have left the war zone. Let us not forget this sacrifice that our heroic service members have given. We all need to have an immense and humbling gratitude for them, the known and the unknown who have given it all as they paved the way for others to be able to serve and pick up the torch and continue our fight to secure and safeguard these freedoms. Without the sacrifice of these brave men and women, the freedoms we enjoy today would not have been possible.
As we express our gratitude for those who have gone before and offered up the ultimate sacrifice that a citizen can give to this nation, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.
So I leave you with a challenge today, enjoy your time with your families today, enjoy your ability to drive on the road freely, to pray or not, to speak your mind freely, to believe in what you want as you see fit, but remember how we got there, with the blood of patriots. But don't just honor and remember in thoughts and words. Remember in your actions. We all have a part we can play to safeguard and keep for ourselves and for those who follow us, what was so difficult to win. Help your neighbors, and those who are strangers to you, and live in a manner that honors that ultimate sacrifice - be a patriot.