Memorial Day

For some Memorial Day is the beginning of the camping season...for some it is a Monday off from work but for a dwindling population it is a day to remember the soldiers who died for our country.  Past Memorial Days brought out all kinds of people in the community to hang flags, decorate soldiers graves and bring out politians to pontificate their view of the armed forces, soldiers and the need to control every corner of the world.

Memorial Day used to be called Decoration Day.  The first day set aside to honor soldiers was for those who died in the Civil War...but to honor only the Union soldiers.  There is a theme to war that seems to keep the concept of war alive...it is...the "them and us" concept.

The Memorial Day speech became a day where veterans, politicians and church ministers to commemorate the war and talk about the atrocities of the enemy.  By the 1870's the rancor was gone and speeches praised both Union and Confederate sacrifices.  By the 1950's the speeches had evolved to our commitment to protect the freedoms of the world.

It is a challenge in these times to honor the sacrifices of our soldiers in wars which one does not support...but, the reality is... it is a sacrifice for their families and our communities. 

A few years back we lost one of our young men, Randy Neuman.  It was and is a conflict which bring up much confict within my own heart.  What I do know is that a woman in my town lost a son.  I needed to do something.  Something personal.  Something that would offer support on a personal level.  So I did what I thought would bring that family comfort and made a quilt.  I made a quilt out of his favorite tee shirts...hoping that in her darkest days she could wrap herself in the quilt and touch his life history again.

We can honor the soldier and not the war.  We can hang the flag of our nation with pride and know that it came with some shame.