THIS WAS PUBLISHED BY AC-T ON MAY 17, I THINK. - Ed Sacco
MEMORIAL DAY
On May 27, we celebrate Memorial Day, originally “Decoration Day”, created after the Civil War to honor the memory of Union soldiers. It later broadened to include a Reconciliation theme, honoring Confederate soldiers. This became a federal holiday in 1971 which has turned into a Memorial Day weekend kicking off the summer with nationalistic displays of flag-waving, marching bands, and political speeches.
In our memories of the dead, let us not forget the consequences of war: the brutal devastation, death, and diminishment of the human spirit — people die, children’s future destroyed. By glorifying our military power and not the suffering war causes, we endanger the next generation. We can also take time to mourn the loss of foreign casualties; the young, the old, and especially the children whose only misstep is to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
President Eisenhower warned in his 1953 farewell speech that every gun made, warship launched, and every rocket fired is a theft from those who hunger. The world in arms he said, “is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists….”
On May 27 at Pack Square 11AM, the local Veterans for Peace are conducting a ceremony dedicated to promoting peace, bringing about an end to all wars. We have the most powerful military force in all history, and yet we are troubled, insecure, and divided. Let us all pray and dedicate ourselves to peace in our time.
NAMASTE,
ed sacco