Who will you honor/ignore on Memorial Day?
Fifteen years ago, I began an article about Memorial Day by facetiously talking about what is conveniently ignored at barbeques on the last Monday in May. Here’s an excerpt from that piece:
Perhaps I could spend my day in quiet contemplation of the valiant heroes who unselfishly risk the agony of carpal tunnel syndrome as they push the buttons and/or computer keys to launch those cruise missiles into crowded Third World cities.
I owe my liberty to them…
Of course, I could instead dedicate myself to worshipping the gallant warriors who put their feet and toes on the line each time they repeatedly kick a prone, chained, and blindfolded prisoner at Gitmo. (Oops, did I say “prisoner”? I mean “enemy combatant,” of course.) These resolute patriots also expose their vocal cords to excruciating injury when they engage in the selfless daily practice of screaming at such evildoers. One can only imagine the mental strain of coming up with new epithets each and every day — day after day, year after year.
Thanks to them, I am free…
You surely get the idea by now.
If not, here are some posts of mine to revisit:
Highway of Death: 32 years ago today in Kuwait/Iraq
“Persons taking no active part in hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, color, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other si…
What the ‘Greatest Generation’ did — 77 years ago this month
On the night of March 9-10, 1945, General Curtis LeMay, head of the Twenty-first U.S. Bomber Command, brought an all-American brand of hell into the Pacific theater of the Good (sic) War as his bombardiers laid siege on Tokyo. Tightly packed wooden buildings were assaulted by 1,665 tons of incendiaries. LeMay later recalled that a few explosives had bee…
My Lai, 'killing ideology' & disobeying orders: 55 years ago today
“We weren’t there to kill human beings, really. We were there to kill ideology.” (Lt. William Calley) Officially termed an “incident” (as opposed to a “massacre”), the events of March 16, 1968, at My Lai — a hamlet in South Vietnam — are widely portrayed and accepted to this day as an aberration. While the catalog of U.S. war crimes in Southeast Asia is …
Of course, it doesn’t have to be this way, e.g.
If you want less war, stop swooning over soldiers
I remember writing about a trend I called the “Soldier Swoon” ten years ago during Occupy Wall Street. As the 2012 presidential election neared, I heard more than a few liberals and progressives (and even some I considered to be radical occupiers at the time) using the term “draft dodger” as a method of attacking Mitt Romney.
Reminder: It doesn’t make you any less of a “patriot” if you expose and reject your country’s criminal behavior. In fact, I’d say it’s one of the most patriotic things anyone can possibly do.
I see most grunt troops as victims. I will honor my son and forget about the war mongers who avoid serving, but don't care about sending others to slaughter, or be slaughtered.
Well, this is a wake up call. I appreciate and respect your candor.