To say "happy Memorial day" is a bit of an oxymoron. On memorial day we are honoring the men and women who have given our country the ultimate sacrifice. They have given their futures, their dreams, their goals, their hopes. They have given their lives. They have given their everything. They gave them to protect our futures, our dreams, our goals, our hopes. They died to protect our lives. They died to protect our everything.
That is not, and will never be, happy. They will never get to enjoy life again. And that is not a cause for celebration.
Imagine being them.
Imagine the moment you realise you are dying. Think about your dreams, think about people you care most about. You will never see them again. You will never achieve those dreams.
Think about the world around you. You will never see the sun set. You will never feel the cold tickle of the first snow. You will never smell the freshly mowed grass. You will never hear the rain hitting the car roof.
Imagine being left behind.
You will never see this person again.
Who were they? Your Mom or Dad? Your Brother or sister? Your baby boy or girl? Your best friend?
Were they your child? Someone you raised, played with, comforted, protected. You wonder why couldn't you protect them then? Children are not supposed to die before their parents do. That's even embraced in the English language. There is no word for a parent who's child has died.
Were they your spouse? You thought you would grow old together. You were supposed to grow old together. You shared the happiest moments of your lives. You were supposed to continue sharing your life.
Were they your brother or sister? How could this strong, sometimes annoying person really be gone? You instantly regret anything mean you ever did to them. You grew up with this person. And now they're gone. Just. Like. That.
Were they your best friend? Uncle? Aunt? Cousin? Battle-buddy? Neighbor? The list goes on.
You can't watch their favorite movie anymore, you can't hear their favorite song, you can't meet someone with the same name as them without remembering what happened. With out being on the verge of tears.
And who did they die for?
They died for you. They died for the little children in school just learning our anthem. They died for the men and women standing on street corners cursing the soldiers calling them baby-killers. They died for the person who mistakenly left the stove on when they went shopping.
They died to keep us - you and I - free, safe, and relatively happy. They died because they know right now we cannot solve our problems in peace. They died so that one day we can have peace, and no one else will have to die.
We must join in remembering them. Honoring them. Our fallen military personnel, police officers, firefighters.
And their families. We must remember their families.
And we must strive towards a better tomorrow. A better future. A place and time when no one has to die for us. We must do this so that their lives and deaths are not in vain. To show they made a difference in our hearts, and in our homes.
"A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” - Joseph Campbell
"If our country is worth dying for in time of war let us resolve that it is truly worth living for in time of peace." - Hamilton Fish
Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will be as one. - John Lennon
