This weekend is one of my favorite events of the year: the Memorial Day parade. The way this month is going, it will probably be rained out, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
One of the reasons I love parades is simply because they are an expression of communal vibrancy. We live in a country where each house has their little picket fences and everyone tends to their own garden. Communal experiences, from concerts in the park to Christmas festivals, are increasingly less common. Simply put, parades are cool.
The other thing I like about Memorial Day is that it's probably the only secular holiday during which people actually pause and reflect about the holiday's intended purpose. Does anyone spend Labor Day thinking "Whew, thank goodness for labor unions because I like having vacation days."
Yet people actually seem to take a little time on Memorial Day to think about those in uniform who've given, or been forced to give, their lives. Yea, it's a day for barbecues but we also reflect a little bit too.
But I'm wary about this Memorial Day a bit, as I was for the last one. I'm dreading the post-parade ceremony which will almost surely be tainted by a dash of nationalism*
[*-I use nationalism and patriotism interchangeably because they are synonymous in the American context]
The point of Memorial Day is to honor the war dead. Yet, rather than merely honoring the dead and remembering the past, there will be speeches about future sacrifice and standing up to tyranny and fighting for what is Good and Righteous.
Patriotism and the flag have been hijacked, as usually happens during times of war. Patriotism now means supporting every particular detail of what the current president is doing because, as the borderline slanderous allegation would have you believe, doing otherwise would "put the troops in harm's way."
That phrase, "fighting for what is Good," is always meant in the militaristic sense. That is the real tragedy of such nationalism: the sense that going to war and "showing our strength" (militarily, of course) are the solution to any problem. We are quick to follow the drumbeat of war. We are assiduous about honoring those who die in such wars. Yet, we repeatedly enter into wars with shocking casualness.
Did you ever notice how we never hold ceremonies to honor diplomats, mediators, religious leaders and other peacemakers? Except for Martin Luther King Jr but we limit his plaudits to the strictly racial context and don't mention, for example, his opposition to the war in Vietnam or his attempts to work for social, not merely racial, justice. Oh, and we hold ceremonies for that pacifist Jesus guy too but we never quite connect the dots.
We honor those soldiers who give their lives. I'd like it, if just once, we took a day to honor those who work so the soldiers DON'T HAVE TO give their lives.
It's time we realized that wearing a uniform is A way to serve your country, but not the only way.
If you love your freedom, a vet is not the sole person you should thank.
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