Working in HR, I refer to paid holidays as the Big Six…you know, News Years Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Since I have always worked in the private sector, the Big Six are the only paid holidays I have ever known and quite frankly, the only holidays that really matter to me. They matter because holidays yield a short week, a festive occasion, a celebratory atmosphere, and a certain charm absent any other regular day of the year.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m down with Columbus Day, Presidents Day, Flag Day, May Day, Veterans Day, Boxing Day, or any other federal or non federal holiday we recognize each year but for me, work aside, these days are not holidays; they are equated more as days of recognition for specific nationalistic movements, events, great people, etc. My memory of federal holidays is jogged when the mail fails to run and the trash overflows…not quite the moxy of an anticipated holiday. Not in the least.
Memorial Day, however, is representative of what a national holiday should entail. Celebrated the last Monday of May and seen as the unofficial start of summer, Memorial Day originated in 1868 to honor Union soldiers who fought and died in the Civil War. Originally entitled Decoration Day, Memorial Day took on its current name following WWI when it was expanded to include all American causalities of any war or military action. Memorial Day is a day in which we honor our fallen heroes, decorate their graves, and remember that our most precious freedom has never been nor will never be without cost.
I’ve often wondered what it was like to live in historic times; during the American Revolution, the Civil War, WWI, WWII, Viet Nam, etc. I've wondered if the minds of men ever questioned their physical actions when it came to fighting for freedom, whether it was for national independence, basic human rights, or for the preservation of the world and her people. I wonder if I would have risen to the occasion and fought heroically for the liberties of all over the liberty of a few. I wonder what this world would resemble today if conflict was avoided for compromise. Have you? Where would we be if we never fought the English, the Mexicans, the Germans, the Japanese, the Italians, the Koreans, the Vietnamese, the Iraqis, etc? The blood of American soldiers echoes throughout the chasms of the past and reminds us “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
I weep for the fallen my friends and hold fast for the day we reunite praying that I too would possess the same fortitude if called upon to protect American sovereignty. It is my sincere hope that patriotism abounds this Memorial Day as we remember why such a day is celebrated and the ultimate price many have paid in securing the American way of life.
This Memorial Day, please decorate the grave of a fallen hero, take place in the national moment of remembrance at 3pm, or thank one of our freedom fighters. We live free, not as a luxury, but because our Creator endowed us with certain unalienable rights that our fighters protect to this day, weapons raised, poised and ready to pay the ultimate sacrifice, whether you can see them on that wall or not.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m down with Columbus Day, Presidents Day, Flag Day, May Day, Veterans Day, Boxing Day, or any other federal or non federal holiday we recognize each year but for me, work aside, these days are not holidays; they are equated more as days of recognition for specific nationalistic movements, events, great people, etc. My memory of federal holidays is jogged when the mail fails to run and the trash overflows…not quite the moxy of an anticipated holiday. Not in the least.
Memorial Day, however, is representative of what a national holiday should entail. Celebrated the last Monday of May and seen as the unofficial start of summer, Memorial Day originated in 1868 to honor Union soldiers who fought and died in the Civil War. Originally entitled Decoration Day, Memorial Day took on its current name following WWI when it was expanded to include all American causalities of any war or military action. Memorial Day is a day in which we honor our fallen heroes, decorate their graves, and remember that our most precious freedom has never been nor will never be without cost.
I’ve often wondered what it was like to live in historic times; during the American Revolution, the Civil War, WWI, WWII, Viet Nam, etc. I've wondered if the minds of men ever questioned their physical actions when it came to fighting for freedom, whether it was for national independence, basic human rights, or for the preservation of the world and her people. I wonder if I would have risen to the occasion and fought heroically for the liberties of all over the liberty of a few. I wonder what this world would resemble today if conflict was avoided for compromise. Have you? Where would we be if we never fought the English, the Mexicans, the Germans, the Japanese, the Italians, the Koreans, the Vietnamese, the Iraqis, etc? The blood of American soldiers echoes throughout the chasms of the past and reminds us “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
I weep for the fallen my friends and hold fast for the day we reunite praying that I too would possess the same fortitude if called upon to protect American sovereignty. It is my sincere hope that patriotism abounds this Memorial Day as we remember why such a day is celebrated and the ultimate price many have paid in securing the American way of life.
This Memorial Day, please decorate the grave of a fallen hero, take place in the national moment of remembrance at 3pm, or thank one of our freedom fighters. We live free, not as a luxury, but because our Creator endowed us with certain unalienable rights that our fighters protect to this day, weapons raised, poised and ready to pay the ultimate sacrifice, whether you can see them on that wall or not.
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