Memorial Day Thoughts

 

This coming weekend, the nation will be celebrating Memorial Day.  Years ago, it was always on May 30, but the Congress in 1971 changed the observance of the holiday to the last Monday in May.  This has resulted in a three-day weekend for many of us who work for a living, and has changed how we celebrate the day.

Yes, we still honor those who are deceased, especially veterans of our nation’s military services.  However, we also take short trips, have cook-outs, go to the lake, and do many things having nothing to do with the observance of the day itself.  In fact, Memorial Day has become known as the unofficial start to summer, since many schools have dismissed for the summer by the time the holiday rolls around, and it’s usually warmer and more summer-like by that time as well.  Meteorological summer is also usually marked as the months of June, July, and August, lending more credence to the idea of the beginning of summer.

This year, we will do what we have done for many years.  We will visit the cemeteries where both the Planks and the Vincents are interred, and we will gather as an extended family at one of our homes…this year at our son’s place just outside of Wichita.  We’ll have a cookout, bring side dishes, play games, visit, watch the kids, and generally enjoy the day.  I’ll probably make my “famous” potato salad.  The wife will probably make her “famous” chocolate sheet cake.  We may bring the homemade ice cream freezer filled with frozen goodness, and might even have a couple of surprise items for the family to dine on.

I can recall Memorial Days when it was so cold one had to have a coat on to be outside.  Others have been rainy, muddy messes.  Some have been hotter than the norm.  And a few have been, as the baby bear said long ago, “Just right.”  I don’t know what the upcoming day holds, although the long range weather forecast isn’t bad right now.  But regardless, we’ll gather as a family, reminisce, and celebrate.

As one with a Mennonite background, I don’t have many among my ancestors who have served in the military.  Mennonites, as you may or may not know, generally espouse pacifism along with service to others through programs like the VISTA program, Americorps, and other similar national service programs.

I do have some who have served as combat medics and in other non-combatant ways, and my wife has many relatives who have served in the military in several capacities.  We honor them all as they have devoted a good chunk of their younger lives in service to the nation, regardless of their branch of service or when and where they served.

We need a military that is ready and able to defend us.  We might have a discussion about just what it means for us to be ready and able, and how much that should cost, but the fact is that from time immemorial, nations have had to raise some kind of military in order to assure a measure of peace and tranquility for themselves.  Equally so, nations and their more local governments need police agencies of some kind to maintain the public order and enforce the law.  Again, we might have a discussion on just what that agency looks like, how it functions, and what it costs, but the fact is we need police departments of all kinds to maintain some kind of societal order and peace.

So, while Memorial Day is often a time for relaxation, family gatherings, and the like, it is also a time for sober reflection…reflection on those who have offered…and in many cases given…the ultimate sacrifice for this nation, this society…for you.  This weekend, do your part.  Just stop for a few minutes and reflect on the true meaning of the holiday.  May your weekend be one that is relaxing, fulfilling, and peaceful…because of those who have and continue to serve this society, watching out for our good.