On Memorial Day

***Cross Posted From Central Sanity***

Today is Memorial Day, barbecues, races, travel, and just maybe some remembrance. The first up should be remembrance for those who have served and given, sometimes all. So, let's stop and think about some things.


Those who serve do so at the behest of our government, and whatever your view of whatever conflict our government has conducted, it is still our government and they are or were our soldiers. The soldiers made the decision to serve the nation, to act for all of us, knowingly. Their jobs range from creative to stupefyingly boring, from safe to incredibly dangerous, but they are all done in our service for poor pay and often in anonymity. We owe all of them more than we can repay with a little holiday, so let's at least make something of the holiday.


Whether they've died, been mangled, had their minds torn, or simply filled their time, they have done the extraordinary, they have served for others. They have gone beyond the simple living a constructive life, they have taken on the burden of people they do not know, people who may not even appreciate what they've done. Finally, there are the headstones marked with flags, these mark those who gave their futures to us and whose family and friends shared in that giving. Dying in combat is not glorious, it is a dirty terrifying thing, but there is glory afterwards, we give that back to them when we honor them today, and all the other days. Their memory and their loved ones deserve that glory - that acknowledgement of their sacrifice for us.

Please give this a thought today, remember who paid for this day.