For a century after its inception, Memorial Day was observed on May 30 as a way to remember the dead, particularly those who had died in service to the country. Originally called Decoration Day, people traditionally used it as an occasion to decorate the graves of loved ones with flowers. The date was changed fifty years ago when Congress moved it to the last Monday in May to create a three day weekend, which has also come to mark the unofficial beginning of summer to distract us from the original purpose of the day.
As a legacy from its origin, Memorial Day is a time when politicians and their ilk often give chest-thumping patriotic speeches. The poet e.e. cummings wrote a sonnet that is a splendid send up of this sort of inane performance:
next to of course god america i
“next to of course god america i
love you land of the pilgrims’ and so forth oh
say can you see by the dawn’s early my
country ’tis of centuries come and go
and are no more what of it we should worry
in every language even deafanddumb
thy sons acclaim your glorious name by gorry
by jingo by gee by gosh by gum
why talk of beauty what could be more beaut-
iful than these heroic happy dead
who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter
they did not stop to think they died instead
then shall the voice of liberty be mute?”
He spoke. And drank rapidly a glass of water
In contrast to the vacuous platitudes that we hear so often Memorial Day, the closing words of the Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address capture the real meaning of the holiday:
“…from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
In celebrating Memorial Day, we should ignore the bloviating politicians who wrap themselves in the flag and spout patriotic platitudes, like the ignoramus in the cummings poem. Rather, we should think about those who sacrificed in support of a “…government of the people, by the people, for the people….”
No government is perfect, but its role is to balance individual liberty with the welfare of all, “for the people.” The balance between individual liberty and the general welfare has often been a source of contention in this country. That is the case recently where people have been staging protests, sometimes armed protests, against government officials who have imposed social distancing and business closure laws to control the spread of the coronavirus. While I am rightly suspicious of government actions, these laws seem to be obvious examples of governments acting responsibly for the people.
The protestors may be well-intentioned, but in advocating for individual “liberty” and the right to congregate where they want, they are seeking at the same time the right to potentially spread the disease through the community. They do not seem to realize that our lives are interconnected and that the welfare of each of us directly relates to the welfare of all.
On this Memorial Day, let us not only remember and honor the dead but also to recognize the responsibility we share for us the living. Let us not forget the Golden Rule.
Well said, my friend.
Very nice Mr. Blogger.