It's tough being dead, especially when the getting there is so messy and painful. Dying is never pretty, but being killed on a battlefield may well be the worst.
But no matter how one winds up at the end of their earthly life, once there, it's permanent.
It would be nice to think people would remember the dead, remember the reason for their demise, and honor the lives cut short.
It's true, people die every day. The means of death are many and the deceased are remembered by the living in many ways, most often in personal and private grief. Even if there's a public funeral, the sorrow, loss and heartache are still borne alone by individuals and families.
However, certain deaths are honored in public because of the reason for the deaths and because of the people who lost their lives.
The most private and awful of death throes are memorialized in the most public way when a nation honors its war dead. Every country has them, and every country has days of remembrance and war memorials.
War, as awful as it is, is a permanent part of the human existence. As long as we remain human with our faults of greed, lust, envy, desire for power and ability for cruelty, there will be wars. We'll have those who would impose their will on others and those who will fight back. There are winners and losers; there are the survivors and there are the dead.
There are many of them – war dead, that is. Battlefield deaths alone, in American wars, total more than 650,000. Think of it. More than 650,000 people killed in battle. That does not include other military deaths in and out of the theater of war. Include those people and the total is over 1,200,000.
Dead. For us. For our freedoms. For the liberty of our country.
That's why we have Memorial Day. It's a day set aside for remembrance, honor and appreciation of those war dead.
Unfortunately, it's turned into a long holiday weekend – a time in the mountains or at the beach. Or perhaps a day at the mall, spending money for perceived bargains.
What are you doing on Memorial Day?
Whatever you do, try to include a remembrance of the war dead. Remember them; they're still dead and they died for you.
You probably don't want to be reminded of that. It's so much easier to plan a fun weekend. But bear in mind, those people gave their lives for a reason. Had they not sacrificed their lives, you would not be living the life you're enjoying nor having the freedoms you take for granted. Nor would you be able to raise your children in relative safety.
Liberty should never be taken for granted. Liberty is neither given nor earned. It is fought for and it must be protected daily. The price of liberty is blood as measured in the lives of brave soldiers.
But liberty is easy to lose.
Just ignore it. It'll be gone before you know it. Retrieval is not so simple and much more bloody.
The American day to remember our war dead began during the Civil War and was first observed as an official commemoration in 1868. It was called Decoration Day and the official date was May 30.
It was a specific time to honor our war dead and recognize their sacrifice for our freedoms. Flowers and flags were placed on military graves. There were ceremonies, prayers were said, and parades were held to recognize the military and pay respects to the lost heroes.
In 1922, the VFW, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, was the first vets' organization to sell artificial, red poppies to honor the blood shed by our military dead, those who gave their lives in the cause of freedom.
By 1971, when the National Holiday Act was passed, it was the beginning of the end of the intrinsic meaning of the day. Memorial Day was changed to the last Monday in May, creating a 3-day holiday. Other traditional holidays got the same treatment, diminishing the import of those events as well.
Whereas schools once held special assemblies and programs for Memorial Day, now, it's barely mentioned since it's the last long weekend of the school year.
Media pay scant attention to the solemnity of the holiday, concentrating instead on weather forecasts and plans for fun.
When was the last time you saw a red poppy for Memorial Day? More than likely, you don't even know what I'm talking about.
The projects to honor military graves and cemeteries are virtually gone and too many gravesites are overgrown and neglected.
It wasn't that long ago there were parades in every town with flags flown on businesses and homes. Now, most children have never seen a patriotic parade, and the flags you see flying are of just about anything other than the Stars and Stripes. As for holiday flag etiquette – forget it.
The tragedy of this is not so much the demise of the holiday but of what that demise means. Too many have chosen to ignore the importance of history in our lives today. By doing so, we betray our children who depend on adults to tell them the truth. Many pretend the reality of war does not exist and they do it at the same time our country is in a battle against terrorism for its very survival.
Many are brainwashed into believing everyone is ''good'' and all war is ''bad.'' They believe that if they recognize the truth of our past, it diminishes us. That if we ignore it, it will go away.
It won't. The past is there, and we'd best learn from it. Our future depends on it.
The millions who served in uniform to protect our country deserve better, as do those in uniform today. The hundreds of thousands killed in action protecting our country deserve every ounce of gratitude we can muster. Today's military deserve our thanks just for being there.
At the very least, one day a year, we can salute the flag, bow our heads and whisper a prayer of thanks for their sacrifice. They gave their lives that we might live in freedom. They paid the big price. We're reaping the reward. Shouldn't we, at least, say thank you?
Related special offer:
"Civil War Journal - The Legacies"