As usual, I fired up Google News today, and saw the usual "President goes somewhere and says something," or "Shit's blowing up in Baghdad again," and of course "URGENT: Oh my god did you see who won American Idol?"
But, what caught my eye was a semi-hidden opinion piece from the Chattanoogan, which I can only assume means straight outta Tennessee. Now, I'm not going to make any assumptions about Tennessee. Speaking with an accent that doesn't come from New England (Gettin' in da cah to drive to da stoah and get some chowdah) might seem, to many people who actually are from New England, like a mark of being some from red state podunk town that cuts property taxes to nil and then bitches about how worthless the municipal government is when it's too bankrupt to fix the roads and pay teachers. No, Tennessee is where Al Gore came from, and that's good enough. Naman Crowe's writing also comes to us today from Tennessee, and I invite you all to read it...
As a combat veteran of the Vietnam War and as a person who hates needless war, warmongering and phony displays of patriotism, I despise Memorial Day because America does not truly honor her war dead, but dishonors them.
The only way to truly honor our war dead and those that have fought in our wars would be to tell the truth about why they died and why they fought and why there must come a day – in honor of them – when we must put a stop to needless war and the killing and maiming, the ruining of lives and the heartbreak and suffering that comes from it.
The last time an American soldier died or fought for our freedom was World War II....
This is only an excerpt, not the beginning and far from the end, but it is right about where he gets going with what he's saying. He calls out no names, and he points no fingers at any one person. Instead, he reminds us why we have Memorial Day, and what it's about. He reminds us of how it, like so many other items of Americana, have been hijacked for such nefarious purposes over the years.