Saturday, May 23, 2009

Memorial Day Is Not Meant to Be a Happy Holiday

I am pleased to return to my blog to post, after an absence of over a week in order to tend once again to local political matters. Thank you for your patience and continued loyalty to my blog.

The United States will commemorate Memorial Day on Monday, May 25. This federal and state holiday, first observed after the War Between the States, honors those who gave their lives in service to the U.S. Thus, it is not a day of celebration, but a day of mourning, albeit one tempered by gratitude for the liberty won by the supreme sacrifice of others.

As such, it is inappropriate to speak of "celebrating" the holiday, or to wish someone a "Happy Memorial Day," or to make some similar statement. Although the intention is good, it is disrespectful to our war dead to dilute the purpose of the day by watering it down with extraneous concerns.

The time will come soon to celebrate the blessings of liberty -- on Independence Day, but for now it is the time to honor the dead who made that liberty possible. Perhaps it is no irony that Memorial Day comes before Independence Day on the calendar, just as the blood of the first patriots had to be shed in order to water the tree of liberty.

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