May 29, 2006

I was embarrassed, yesterday, that in both worship services prayers were offered that were more suitable for Veterans' Day than for Memorial Day. It is not that we should NOT pray for veterans, including those so new that they still have not (and might not) come home to be veterans. It is that the difference between the days is somehow lost, and something precious is lost. It is not surprising, really, because in the popular culture, the words have lost distinction: we speak of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in DC when it properly should be called the Vietnam War Fallen Memorial, or even the more pleasing "Memorial for the American Fallen of the Vietnamese War." The same is true of the Korean Veterans Memorial, although that does have more to it than just the list of the fallen.

I personally see no need to pray for the souls of the dead, for their fate was determined in their lifetime and God is their Judge. They are in His hands. Yet, I know that many people feel differently, and while Veterans' Day honors both living and dead, Memorial Day honors, and gives opportunity and reminder for prayer for those who died. Perhaps the old-day names would be better: Remembrance Day, or Decoration Day. Remembering those who have fallen in the many conflicts, decorating their graves to show our honor and memory is fresh. And although the prayers yesterday in one church might have missed the mark, still there were countless people out doing just that: decorating graves and reminding themselves and others that though the cast-offs lie beneath the sod, the person is not there, not forgotten, but remembered.

In many ways, of course, Memorial Day in the US has replaced the more ancient tradition of All-Saints Day - it is no longer (and for many people has not been for many years) limited to remembering the fallen in war, but those lost in whatever way: accident, murder, even illness and age. I suppose that technically it is therefore more inclusive (a modern virtue, I know) than All-Saints - since many so honored were clearly NOT. But like All-Saints Day, tainted and overshadowed by the pagan joys of Halloween, Memorial Day has become another generic "bank holiday" with nothing other than a three-day weekend and a car race to remember. The real reason (as with virtually every other holiday on the calendar) is lost to the commercialization and socialization of the time. Superbowl Sunday is celebrated more religiously, I fear.

It may not be necessary to pray for the souls of the fallen, but it is certainly appropriate to thank God for those who DID fall, not just in war but in all endeavors: those who lost their lives exploring the far reaches of this world and even near-earth orbit; those who lost their lives seeking for freedom in distant lands, those who died protecting their people and lands in tiny "wars" and battles and less, those who gave their lives that others might live - whether attempting to rescue the drowning, put out fires, fight blizzards, and all other disasters. And even (or especially) those who attempted to put themselves between a loved one, a friend, or even a stranger and a bullet or a knife or a club.

And yes, it is even appropriate to remember and to thank God for our enemies, for without them we do not ever learn our strength and, often, lose the strength of our convictions. Was it not Patrick Henry that said "the tree of liberty must be watered by the blood of tyrants AND patriots"?

Memorial Day should be a time to remember the fallen of both friend and foe - to remember the dead in Blue as well as those in Gray; those who saluted a flag with a sun as well as one with stars; those who swore to bury us as well as those who died "to liberate the oppressed." No matter how necessary a death may have been, we should regret the necessity of taking the life of even the most evil - for there is no second chance, and that life (like ours) was a precious gift of God.

So far as I know, in my direct line of descent, only my great-great-great-grandfather lost his life in a war, and it was not that big a war - the Regulators and Moderators War in Texas in 1842 - and he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. A woman who WOULD have been my great-great-grandmother (had she not been killed) died in another war, on a frontier and a clash between two great nations, both (at least, for now) relegated to the dustbin of history. That is it - but I honor them for what they gave, right or wrong. They thought that they died in the cause of their freedom, their family's liberty and future. Whether they did - they know now the truth. But their sacrifice should remain fresh in our, my, my children's, memory.

So wait to honor the living, and those who did not fall in battle, but who served their people, their nation, but most of all, their ideals - for Veterans' Day. Today, honor the fallen - keep their memory fresh - from those who died for freedom's sake on the dusty plains of Ur and Ashur, the barren hills of Ararat, the stony fields of Judea and Galillee, the verdant dales of Eire, the icy heights of the Alps, the rocky mountains of the Highlands, the rolling prairies of the Great American Desert, the dust-choked badlands of Dinetah, the stinking warrens of Warsaw and Berlin, the frozen paddies of Chosen, the jungles of another Highlands, and so many other places.

Archives

Churches and Concealed Carry

Why one libertarian doesn’t support Cindy Sheehan

Looters: The Low-down on the Low-down

Bakers Dozen ™: Hot-Wash Lessons Learned From Katrina, Week 1

Baker’s Dozen ™ Hints to Prepare for Disaster

What is a "person" In modern America?

Presidential Power

Libertarian Proposals For The Constitution (Part One)

Libertarian Proposals For The Constitution (Part Two)

Who is the enemy of free speech?

Bumper Stickers - Fact and Fiction

The Truth About Depleted Uranium

Complete Archives for Nathan Barton