Memorial Day is more than just a 3 day weekend and the (unofficial) start of summer. Our pal mental_floss has a neat article explaining how Memorial Day came to be:
Memorial Day was a response to the unprecedented carnage of the Civil War, in which some 620,000 soldiers on both sides died. The loss of life and its effect on communities throughout the North and South led to spontaneous commemorations of the dead:
• In 1864, women from Boalsburg, Pa., put flowers on the graves of their dead from the just-fought Battle of Gettysburg. The next year, a group of women decorated the graves of soldiers buried in a Vicksburg, Miss., cemetery.
• In April 1866, women from Columbus, Miss., laid flowers on the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers. It was recognized at the time as an act of healing sectional wounds. In the same month, up in Carbondale, Ill., 219 Civil War veterans marched through town in memory of the fallen to Woodlawn Cemetery, where Union hero Maj. Gen. John A. Logan delivered the principal address. The ceremony gave Carbondale its claim to the first organized, community-wide Memorial Day observance.
• Waterloo, N.Y., began holding an annual community service on May 5, 1866. Although many towns claimed the title, it was Waterloo that won congressional recognition as the “birthplace of Memorial Day.”
Happy Memorial Day, everyone!
Aside from the mansion, I never would have thought the area had such deep roots in U.S. history.
Memorial Day was surely started as a way to remember the carnage and futility and destruction and waste of war, not as a ra-ra pep rally for getting more people killed.
But you'll no doubt dutifully tear up when the President stands in front of a selected bunch of rockjawed uniformed props and mouths his meaningless soundbites once more.
Yes, I appreciate the fact that the USA has historically fought the good fight, but that is no longer the case - the world has moved on a long way from the certainties of the mid C20th, yet it appears that the collective world view of the US establishment has not.
There are better ways of dealing with the issues that conmfront us all than by ramping up the Military Industrial Complex and killing a few hundred thousand brown skinned people for the inconvenience of their living over your oil.
On Memorial Day, make a stand for Peace, not War.
munky: I agree with some of what you said but you're quite overwrought with others.
Why not just remember those who died without the rankles of the present? It's pretty simple. Quietly honor and mourn the loss and try to make this world a more peaceful place individually. Daily. One person at a time.
And that's ok. Those of us who have did so in order that fools like you can shoot your mouths off with impunity. Disagree with the war all you like. Disparage the troops all you like. But at least be a little grateful that you haven't been a firsthand witness to the hell that is war. There is a reason you haven't seen open warfare within our borders, and there have been so few terrorist attacks.
Would it really hurt to show a little gratitude to the next "rockjawed uniformed prop" you see on the street? Even a half-hearted "Hey! Thanks!" would go a long way.
Memorial Day was also called Decoration Day when I was young, and was definitely on May 30--which was also my parents' wedding anniversary.
Masturbate more for your failed war in Iraq ("Mission Accomplished" banner was hilarious) while your gas prices go up! up!! up!!!
Freedom of speech is free until you make waves then they fly you out to torture you until you agree to not think different.
Actually, I have served my country in uniform thanks very much, and met some fine people - I also met some extremely marginally psychotic people who should never be allowed around sharp objects let alone firearms.
Sevice should be tempered with education, not used as a ticket to one.