Polite Kid

I thought twice about posting anything related to Memorial Day, given that last year, my simple little Memorial Day picture and quote drew a rather angry comment from someone who objected to it on the basis of perceived jingoism or pro-militarism, from what I gathered.
So now it seems Memorial Day is controversial for both liberals and paleocons, based on objections to the Iraq War. Thus it seems as if the day is becoming more and more ignored, which I think is rather sad. After all, we all have kin who have died in various wars, and family members who have served in the military or are serving currently.
Can we not honor their memories without controversy over the war, or over the current government, with which many of us are disillusioned? Surely it should be possible to maintain this day of remembrance without politicizing it.
America, as I've said often, is really the people, not a government, or an idea, or a proposition. Let's remember the people in whose memory this day is set aside.

Labels: History, Memorial Day

Taps
"Fading light dims the sight
And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright.
From afar drawing nigh -- Falls the night.
"Day is done, gone the sun,
From the lake, from the hills, from the sky.
All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.
"Then good night, peaceful night,
Till the light of the dawn shineth bright,
God is near, do not fear -- Friend, good night."
Composed By Major General Daniel Butterfield,Army of the Potomac, Civil War

Labels: Memorial Day

Memorial Day
The finest tribute we can pay
Unto our hero dead to-day,
Is not a rose wreath, white and red,
In memory of the blood they shed;
It is to stand beside each mound,
Each couch of consecrated ground,
And pledge ourselves as warriors true
Unto the work they died to do.
Into God's valleys where they lie
At rest, beneath the open sky,
Triumphant now o'er every foe,
As living tributes let us go.
No wreath of rose or immortelles
Or spoken word or tolling bells
Will do to-day, unless we give
Our pledge that liberty shall live.
Our hearts must be the roses red
We place above our hero dead;
To-day beside their graves we must
Renew allegiance to their trust;
Must bare our heads and humbly say
We hold the Flag as dear as they,
And stand, as once they stood, to die
To keep the Stars and Stripes on high.
The finest tribute we can pay
Unto our hero dead to-day
Is not of speech or roses red,
But living, throbbing hearts instead,
That shall renew the pledge they sealed
With death upon the battlefield:
That freedom's flag shall bear no stain
And free men wear no tyrant's chain.
- by Edgar A. Guest
In remembrance of, and in gratitude to, all those who have died serving our country.
And our thanks to all those in our armed forces today.

Labels: Memorial Day

"The finest tribute we can pay
Unto our hero dead to-day
Is not of speech or roses red,
But living, throbbing hearts instead,
That shall renew the pledge they sealed
With death upon the battlefield:
That freedom's flag shall bear no stain
And free men wear no tyrant's chain."

Labels: Holidays, Memorial Day, Veterans