Memorial Day, Our Reason for Being

May 30, 2011 by John S

It is not about barbecue, hot dogs, hamburgers, nor heading out to the beach or a lake. It is not about a day off work nor revelry with compatriots. It is about those that made all of those things possible; those that gave us the comforts of freedom we enjoy today. It is about “Duty, Honor [and] Country.”

“Duty, Honor, Country: Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying points: to build courage when courage seems to fail; to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith; to create hope when hope becomes forlorn.” said General Douglas MacArthur in his acceptance address at West Point.

Memorial Day is the day, for which we honor those that stood firm in their love and belief in not just us, but in our country; all that our beliefs represent and present to the world. They are those that have given of themselves, some by demand and others freely, their life, not only in service, but by commitment of their life. They have secured our future; by that most sacred sacrifice they gave their life for each of us.

Today we should reverently celebrate the past members of our society, our ancestries, that stood fast to secure for us freedom. They took the words as spoken by MacArthur, “Duty, Honor, Country” with the most spiritual and personal of meanings. They gave that we may receive. They believed so that we might choose to not believe. They sacrificed so that we would not have to do such. They marched so we may play. They bled so we should not suffer. They endured filth so might live clean. They gave all that they had been given that we may choose how we wish to live.

To them “Duty” was neither an obligation to be forced nor the need to act out. Duty was a sacred responsibility, possibly a charge of Divine Providence, which had called them to act to safeguard their family. Almost as though God himself had call outright or nudged them. They knew that they had to serve to keep from being forced to serve others, and to save their family from uncertainty. They knew that may be called upon to give their life.

Honor was and is still that humble act that is the foundation of a true gentleman. It is that innate quality of character that dictates that one must put others above himself. That defines a handshake or ones word as a bound agreement, which shall not be discarded at a whim. It is above all, that which separates the common from the noble.

But then there is country, that idea that has worked and flourished for over 200 years. That creation, which has been tested not just from afar but that, has been tested from within. It appears complex yet it is so simple to understand, a group of states that agreed to yield limited powers for the protection of whole. Their “Honor” guided them as the call to “Duty” brought them to defend our “Country” to maintain our way of life and to guarantee that it not suffer but should continue to improve. They defended a country where the governed chose the government.

So as we revel about today, enjoying this holiday, deciding what we should do, might it be wise that we take a few minutes to remember that we would not be able to enjoy this day had it not been for our warriors; those honorable soldiers that gave their lives for our freedoms. For without their sacrifice we should not be here. Today we should thank God for sending them and calling them to service, we should thank him for the freedoms that they give us at the cost of their lives. Most importantly we should be thankful that when those days of old and that time of need cometh again, they will appear once more be our protectors.