Welcome to the first day of the Memorial Day weekend. Monday is Memorial Day but it is really the travel day for those who have gone to the beach or mountains for a little getaway. It’s the day to get back home to get ready for work again.
So, ahead of time, I hope we take a little bit of time to remember at some point over the weekend and honor all of those who have given their lives while serving in one of our military forces.
It’s a good time to remind ourselves that those who died in action did it to preserve our democratic way of life here in the United States of America. They did it to make sure dictators of other countries don’t use their power to take us over. They died in hopes that all our children will get to continue to live the “American dream.”
We live in a wonderful place. The United States was founded with much thought about how this land should offer endless possibilities for everyone here. The writers of the Constitution had seen what had gone wrong in other places, and because of it they fled from England, wanting to start a better system, one where everyone counted, where everyone was equal.
All of those who have put their lives on the line (and given their lives) since our country’s inception are being memorialized this weekend.
Throughout the years our country has faced many challenges from outside, and yes, from inside.
Right now we are definitely dealing with a group within the United States who want to change the American Dream. There is a group who want to take away freedoms, who wants to hold power over others, who want to say who is allowed in and who is out.
Democracy as we know it is at risk. And as I try to understand why this group wants to change our system of checks and balances, and change our 3 equal branches of government, and too often disregards our ‘united’ states vs. separate states, I hope this is a wake up call for us all. We can never be lazy about it. We can not take for granted our system of government. It is tested all the time. Thankfully, so far it has survived.
But we have new kinds of attacks. Technology is a big one. The misuse of social media, putting out lies after lies and conspiracy theories, and the use of network TV outlets that lean every story for pushing an agenda. It has done so much damage.
The other new attack we face comes out of the mouths of our own political leaders. They continually speak lies as truth. They totally disregard facts and are vulgar to others who think differently. It has been nonstop to the point of thinking it is normal. But – it should never be normal.
When I think of all of those we will honor this Memorial Day weekend, and all that they fought for – to preserve our democracy – I am saddened, and I wonder what they would think seeing this America right now.
Perhaps this weekend we can think deeper about how to come back together, to be respectful to all, to remember that our country was founded on a beautiful democratic system with values of equality and fairness. It is an ongoing challenge. But our lost ones deserve us to try better.
Marla’s Musings 