It’s another Memorial Day weekend with all the attendant solemnities and frivolities. It is difficult, at times, to separate the meaning of Memorial Day with the politics that lead to war and the need for people to find enjoyment.
Memorial Day is designated as a day when the United States remembers its war dead, but it’s also the unofficial start of the summer season. There will be parades and graveside wreath-laying ceremonies followed by barbecues and, after dark, fireworks displays. One must wonder what that single day dichotomy says about our culture.
Perhaps, though, that swing from solemnity to fun is how it should be. People don’t like to linger on the serious, especially when it’s nice outside and there are more pleasant diversions like playing on the beach or kayaking down the Brandywine.
The key is how sincerely people treat the solemn side, how deeply we reflect and what we take away from that reflection.
Those among us who remember the Vietnam War era recall vividly the protests and riots. On the surface the protests were against the war, but likely they were spurred on more by the military draft that existed at the time.
Even that, though, is telling. There was a draft during WWII, but anti-war sentiment and demonstration was minimal. The difference is that the U.S. entry into WWII was a defensive war — we had been attacked by a foreign nation. Such was not the case in Vietnam, or Korea or Iraq. It must also be remembered that Afghanistan never attacked us either.
There is a small ant-war presence today, as made evident by protests during the recent NATO conference in Chicago, but nothing like the protests during Vietnam. The 2012 demonstration could almost be called an aberration since war protests are so rare today.
While Americans from all over the political compass were outraged over the 9/11 attacks of 2001, and even the more pacific accepted the attacks as reason for action in Afghanistan to capture Osama bin Laden, we have been there far too long. Troops are supposed to remain until next year, while it’s been a year since bin Laden was killed.
Sadly, U.S. citizens have become too accustomed to, and almost accepting of, war. The country has been has been occupying defeated enemies since 1945 and engaged in almost constant hostilities for more than 60 years. Foreign policy discussions always seem to include the possibilities of new engagements from Iran to North Korea. Enough is enough.
As people remember the war dead this year, they should resolve to tell politicians to stop making new ones. They should also vote accordingly.
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