Living (and loving) Life
“This will remain the land of the free so long as it is the home of the brave.“
-–Elmer Davis
I’ve often heard it said that freedom isn’t free, and that’s so very true.
Since the day our great nation was founded every generation has produced thousands of patriots who were ready and willing to risk their own lives to protect the freedoms we enjoy as Americans from the tyrants who would endeavor to take them away.
Virtually every cemetery and graveyard in this country holds the remains of men and women who answered the call of duty and came home draped in the flag they fought so hard to protect.
On Memorial Day we come together as a nation to remember and honor all the brave souls who selflessly sacrificed their own futures so the rest of us could enjoy ours in freedom and peace.
There will be many backyard cookouts and family get-togethers on this very special day, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. We were born free, and remain free. That’s certainly worth celebrating.
But I do hope we’ll all take some time to contemplate what it took to earn and protect the freedoms we now enjoy and say a special thanks to all the heroes who made it possible by answering their patriotic call to service, but are no longer here to enjoy the fruits of their good work.
The flags we see on all those military gravestones aren’t just for decoration. They represent all that is good in our country and the countless sacrifices that were made in order to maintain it.
The remains of every Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine and Coast Guard Member that rests beneath one of those flags is…
A hero.
A patriot.
Worthy of our honor and respect. And we owe them nothing less.
I’m sure you’ve heard it said that Memorial Day is a day of sadness and reflection, not a day of celebration. And there’s a lot of truth in that.
It’s certainly a day of sadness and reflection over all the lives that have been lost over the years in defense of our country. It’s indeed sad that freedom has to come at such a high price.
But that being said, in my mind at least, Memorial Day is also a day of celebration.
It’s a day to celebrate our freedom, for there are few places on planet earth that have the level of freedom we Americans enjoy.
We should also celebrate the fact that we have always had plenty of brave individuals who were willing to risk their very lives for the good of their fellow Americans.
And finally, we should also celebrate the fact that there will be plenty of new patriots stepping out of the shadows of future generations to take the places of the ones that came before them.
And they’ll do so with the full understanding that they could well end up paying the ultimate price themselves some day.
America is America because so many gave so much to make her what she is today.
Let us all take some time this weekend to mourn the loss of our selfless heroes while also celebrating the way of life they sacrificed so much to ensure for the rest of us.
The short, but moving video below is barely two minutes long, but it clearly and fully explains the meaning of Memorial Day.