The 150th anniversary of the end of the American
Civil War makes this Memorial Day especially poignant, as it is the day
Americans pause to commemorate the supreme sacrifice of those soldiers who gave
their lives in wartime service to the United States . Earlier this year was also the bicentennial
of the end of the War of 1812, when Americans defended their independence.
It is not
objectionable to commemorate on this day also those civilian federal public
servants who also died in service to the U.S. in wartime.
Amidst the
popular perception of Memorial Day as the “unofficial start of Summer,” given
the federal and state holiday’s placement in late Spring and on a Monday to
create a three-day weekend, it is easy for Americans to treat the day intended
as a day of mourning as a day of celebration.
As I noted in a post in May of 2009, Memorial Day Is Not Meant to Be a
Happy Holiday, http://williamcinfici.blogspot.com/2009/05/memorial-day-not-meant-to-be-happy.html,
the focus should be on remembering our American war dead and appreciating their
sacrifice for our liberty and that of the world.
May God
bless America !
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