Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Memorial Day

Does anyone else remember when Memorial Day was the day when you went to the cemetery and put flowers on the grave site of deceased loved ones? Growing up in a small military town, it was also a day of parades and patriotic songs and remembering fallen soldiers. Now it seems that it is a lot about barbequeing and beer-guzzling. Now, don't get me wrong. I can put away my weight in Texas BBQ. And a cold one can really put out the fire set by my uncle's blazin' hot salsa. And maybe eatin' and drinkin' is a balm for painful memories to some.

All this talk of fallen soldiers makes me wonder... is it possible to hate war and still respect and appreciate our service men and women? What do you think?

1 comment:

BB said...

Yeah, I struggle with this same dichotomy. I respect the willingness of those who'd sacrifice themselves (and, in my opinion, their families) for the cause of defending us.

But war sucks, period. It's awful, beyond awful really, and barbaric and all those other words... I can't help but think, to wish for a newer way to inflict our will upon the bad guys. I don't know what it is though.

It's a mess.