Memorial Day 2006

[lazypadawan]

Hope you're having a good one today! But don't forget those who have made the ulitmate sacrifice for the rest of us.

It is the soldier, not the reporter
who preserves the freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet
who preserves our freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
who puts his life on the line
to give others the freedom to demonstrate...
And it is the soldier,
Who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag
who protects the protesters' right to burn the flag

Comments

[mlgm.livejournal.com]

::sigh::

Things like this always make me feel so old, since I know that poets, and organizers, and reporters have died in great numbers, usually slowly, painfully, and with no glory and no remembrance in our history books.

Soldiers are sexier, I suppose.

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

Have you ever met a veteran? There's very little that's sexy about the life of an ordinary soldier, but these are folks who undertake the greatest risks and the greatest sacrifices without big bucks or the celebrity of a movie star or a professional athlete.

Certainly there are other people who take great risks in other walks of life. But the point of that poem is that freedom isn't free and there are many, many Americans paid the ultimate price for the rest of us.

[darth-pipes.livejournal.com]

Well said, lp.

[mlgm.livejournal.com]

Child, I am a veteran. Did my time in the National Guard. All three of my brothers were in the marines or navy. My father fought in WW II, both grandfathers in WW I, three of great, great grandfathers fought in the Civil War. And I can follow this trail of veterans back to the Revolutionary War. Want me to?

And the point of the poem is only veterans died. And your poem doesn't mention sports figures or actors. It mentions reporters, organizers, and poets. All of who have died in great numbers, they just don't get remembered. Or taught in school.

Thousands of labor organizers died to bring you the forty hour work week. And if you check, many of them in the 18th, 19th, and 20th century were killed by the US Army. One of which was my great grandfather.

And two members of the press died yesterday bringing us the war in the MiddleEast.

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your service and your family's service. I didn't write that poem; it was quoted by Father Denis O'Brien several years ago and while he's often attributed as the author, the real author is actually unknown. The point is that soldiers have died to preserve the freedoms we have and those are the folks we are honoring on Memorial Day. All I wanted to do is take a little time to remember those who served and died from the Revolutionary War through to the present. Memorial Day weekend is a flurry of sales, blockbuster movies, picnics, and beach trips. Nothing wrong with those things but the real reason for the holiday ought to be remembered.

[laariii.livejournal.com]

The American Air force saved my grandfathers life in WW2. He was a technician and their base was being bombed by the Japanese. If the Americans hadn’t arrived when they did they would have had to surrender.