I was sitting, surfing channels, mostly between a Memorial Day Symphony Celebration on PBS and a Tribute to Bob Hope Turning 100. Already, I had already heard Bob Hope's name mentioned, with John Cole at Balloon-Juice wondering if it was legally possible to bury Bob Hope in Arlington National Cemetary. To take nothing from Bob Hope, Memorial Day is not about Bob Hope. There was mention in the PBS show about remembering those who fell on 9/11 and those we recently lost in the Challenger incident. Both severely tragic events, but such deaths are also not what Memorial Day is traditionally about.
Memorial Day was created in 1865 to honor the dead who had fallen in combat. It began with remembering those soldiers who had fallen in the Civil War and has come to include those who died during all following years.
Bob Hope has been magnanimously supportive of all overseas troops for years and years. He deserves utmost honor and respect for having done so. But is his sacrifice the same as those for whom we set aside this holiday to remember?
Is the "War on Terror" actually a war? If so, maybe those fallen soldiers at the Pentagon were soldiers who had died during a war. The Challenger Astronauts are mostly officers in some military unit, but that tragedy was not associated with a war.
Maybe drawing lines and saying who you are supposed to remember on Memorial Day is a bit petty, but is it not wise to be cautious about diluting the real meaning of the Day? Do we necessarily allow today's topics to shield our thoughts of those who gave their lives for this country in combat fighting for our way of life.
Posted by Tiger at May 25, 2003 08:39 PMSince I was born and reared under three flags, should everyone that died in the wars of these flags be Memorialized on this day? You ask which flags are these. They are all American flags.
The United States Flag(Old Glory), the Confederate States of America Flag(Rebel), and the Texas Flag(Lone Star).
I do not want to upset anyone, but I cannot deny who I am, nor would I want to. It is history and that is just the way it is. All People that fought under these Flags, fought valiantly and bravely and they should all be honored.
Dunno. Seems like back home in northern Michigan all Memorial Day is anymore is just another excuse for the hicks to get all liquored up then go out driving at 80-100MPH, much to the detriment of anything that should be unlucky enough to cross their paths. Some years it is so bad that the State Police actually air warnings to motorists.
Though maybe it is OK seeing how so many of said hicks are so blindly pro-war and sport American flags on their barely-functional, 1970s-vintage Ford full beds. Regardless, so many Americans have lost sight of the true, often somber meanings of so many holidays, preferring instead to indulge in self gratification and rampant commercialism.
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Posted by: chris at May 26, 2003 08:03 PM