Day of Memorialization

Any of you that know me know that I'm incredibly patriotic, almost to a fault. I get goosebumps when military aircraft fly over sporting events. I get incredibly angry when people are disrespectful during the playing of the National Anthem. I get all weepy-eyed when I hear songs like America the Beautiful (as sung by Ray Charles), Lee Greenwood's 'God Bless the USA', and even 'The Angry American' by Toby Keith. I cried when Congress sang 'God Bless America' on the steps of the Capitol after 9/11, as well as when two UGA grads waved a flag in Baghdad on Foxnews at 3 in the morning, while the Anchorman said 'How 'bout them Dawgs?'. I have an American flag pinned to my bookbag as well as one in the back window of my car and on my front porch. I've been to Ground Zero on the 4th of July, and to several rallies for our troops.

However, despite all of this, a lot of times I'm disappointed in myself. Today is one of those times. Despite the fact that it's Memorial Day -- a day supposedly set aside for the remembrance of those that gave their life defending this country -- the most patriotic thing I've done all day is watch a special about D-Day on PBS. The rest of my day consisted of going shopping, eating, going to a movie, eating again, and putting stuff in my room into a 'DC pile' and a 'Staying Home pile'.

I didn't visit either of my grandfathers' grave sites, despite the fact that one was a bomber pilot in the Pacific and the other was an artillery gunner in Europe during WWII. I didn't organize/attend any sort of gathering to commemorate the occasion, and quite honestly I haven't spend much time today thinking about the sacrifices of those that gave their lives for their country and mine.

This makes me feel kinda dirty, and in a way unworthy. It's not that I'm at all ungrateful or even lazy -- I think I'm just complacent.

It's because of the men who have died that I don't have to live in constant fear of attack or invasion by a hostile nation. It's because of them that I can go out and spend time with my friends and family in a peaceful nation. It's because of them I can read a book on virtually any subject from virtually any point of view, instead of government produced propaganda. It's because of them that I can speak German only if I want to, nicht weil mein Führer sagt mir ich muߟ. And it's because of them that I can sit at my computer late at night and bullshit stuff that people can read all over the world.

Someone a lot smarter than I (but incidentally with the same name), said as much, but with more eloquence:

It is the soldier, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the soldier, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the soldier,
who salutes the flag,
who serves under the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
who allows the protester to burn the flag.

--Charles M. Province

Sometimes I'm simply amazed at the opportunities and luxuries afforded to me because of the sacrifices of men and women that never knew me, and that I've never known. Forgive me if it's too cheesy, but I can only hope that I'm living my life in such a way that would do their sacrifice justice. I can only hope that our country today is something they would be proud to have defended.

I like to believe that it is, but there are some aspects of our nation that worry me. The collapse of the family unit (as evidenced by the ballooning divorce rate, rampant illegitimacy, and the push for same-sex marriage), the decline of our entertainment standards to the point that popular shows consist of people eating horse rectum and sheep eyes, as well as the exponential dumbing-down of our children by a public school system so bent political correctness and not hurting anyone's feelings that history, the arts, and educational standards have given way to the likes of cultural relativism, pop culture, and social promotion.

No longer are children being taught of the challenges, sacrifices and triumphs of the generations before them. They're taught that our Founding Fathers were racist; and that while there are countries in the world that starve their own people to death and stone women for being raped, America is no better and they have to 'respect the beliefs' of these people, because there is no absolute right and wrong by which to judge such things.

No longer are they taught to aspire to the likes of George Washington, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Abigail Adams. Their heros are now people like Eminem, Tupac, and Paris Hilton.

No longer are children held to rigorous academic standards. Either the bar is lowered taccommodatete lackluster performance, or poor results are ignored altogether and children are advanced anyway in order to prevent from hurting their feelings or making them feel isolated from their peer group.

As this year's Memorial Daunceremoniouslyly comes and goes, I'm left with a few thoughts. First of all, the United States of America continues to be the sole true beacon of freedom, liberty, and opportunity in the world; and those that have given their lives in her defense are truly deserving of a hero's memorial.

Secondly, we have been entrusted with the survival of this beacon; and if we're not careful, its light could fade to the point where it is no longer visible and morally relevant. Not to be overly pessimistic, but looking at the current and future generation of Americans, I'm not convinced that we're up to the task. I'm not convinced that those generations quite understand what they've been given, and I'm not convinced that they would readily defend it -- or understand why it's worth defending -- should the challenge arise.

And finally, I'm not convinced that we're on the right path to justifying the sacrifice of those that gave their life defending our freedom. Given the current state and direction of our nation, would her former defenders be proud of their sacrifice, or would they feel misused?

I would much rather believe the former; but then Paris Hilton gets another TV show, and George Patton and Dwight Eisenhower roll over in their graves.