For the past couple of years, I’ve been a bit conflicted about Memorial Day as a national holiday. Every year, millions of Americans take the day off and enjoy being able to do so. This is not, by any means, a bad thing. We should be reminded of those things that we take for granted; having a job, taking time off from that job, being able to travel on the highway without significant fear of being roadblocked and robbed at gunpoint. Our country, however flawed it might by, affords us certain privileges that we all too often forget.
So, my conflict does not come from questions of whether or not we should enjoy our freedom. What is not to enjoy? As well, in keeping with the holiday, remembering those who have died for our freedom is not a bad thing.
My conflict concerning memorial day comes mostly from what we have made out of it in recent years. It has become a sort of military pride celebration in which we not only remember those who have died in the past, but we glorify (perhaps even deify) the wars that killed them. Memorial Day is a day for celebrating freedom as well as for remembering who we have to thank for it. However, as we celebrate, perhaps we should also look to the future and think of ways to prevent more from dying.
Glorifying the military might of the United States can be a dangerous thing. Yes, we have fought wars in the past that have been for the greater good, and we have done so with the greatest intentions. However, we forget that, while we continue to enjoy freedom, our wars have transformed functioning nations into ruined police states. We do not fight wars on our own turf, and thus it may be difficult to remember that we are elsewhere taking freedom away from persons who deserve it as much as we do.
So, on this Memorial Day, let us indeed remember those who have died and let us continue to support those who volunteer for service, but let us also try and imagine a world characterized by peace rather than by war. Let us imagine a world where armies become unnecessary, or at least a world in which they are bored and can find absolutely nothing to do. On this Memorial Day, let us remember those who have fallen, but let us work towards a world in which others will not.
