cur-mud-geon:
anyone who hates hypocrisy and pretense and has the temerity to say so; anyone with the habit of pointing out unpleasant facts in an engaging and humorous manner
Memorial Day, 2007 sees our country with troops deployed in many countries worldwide. Many of those troops are under hostile fire day-in and day-out. Most are away from family. At last count, some 75 members of the armed services from Wisconsin have died in the service of their country during the Afghanistan and Iraq missions (the “War on Terror” for those who are politically incorrect enough to appreciate the facts as they exist and not as one might wish they existed).
Every single person wearing the uniform today does so voluntarily. Every man or woman made his or her own decision to join whatever branch of our armed services they preferred and for which they were qualified. These are among the best and brightest of this generation. They are not in the armed forces because that was the only thing they could do. They are there because they believe in our freedoms and are willing to give their all defending those freedoms.
Mothers and fathers faced the fear only a parent can understand as they watched the loved one go off to serve, literally not knowing if they would see them again in this life. They live with that fear every day.
Some of those parents are fervent supporters of the doctrine that brought us to the battlefield, while others are as ardently opposed. But, each of them has the same stake in the outcome so far as their loved one is concerned.
Our politicians too often act exactly as we have come to expect politicians to act:
…they wrap themselves in the flag of our country even as they argue the right of citizens to deface that flag.
…they proclaim themselves fully supportive of our men and women in battle while they engage in arcane debate over fine budget points, and haggle with their associates to gain that last little piece of political cover.
…they conveniently try to convince us that they did or didn’t have all the facts when they took the vote they wish they could erase from their records.
Beyond all this, however, our conscience sits on our shoulder whispering in our ear (or at least I hope we each have one of those). It is that frequently dimming voice that gnaws at us when we see a flag flying at half-staff, when we pass a cemetery, when we read of yet another death in a faraway land.
Where will we be this Memorial Day week-end? Will we be thinking of all those brave souls who went to battle to protect our freedoms? Will we be mindful that we enjoy what we enjoy today because of those who’ve gone before? Will we be able to avoid thinking about that altogether because it makes us uncomfortable? Will we be camping and fishing and partying without so much as a moment’s thought of what this long week-end is truly about?
I hope our collective conscience is calling each of us. I hope you’ll see the flag flying just a bit differently this week-end. I hope you’ll remember that relative who served our country. I hope you’ll walk just a little bit taller when you remind yourself that you are a citizen of the greatest country on earth even given all the problems we have today.
I hope you’ll have a bit of a tear in your eye the next time you see one of this country’s finest wearing the uniform…regardless of your political persuasion. I know I do!
