America Dishonors Her War Dead On Memorial Day

[Java_man]

This is Memorial Day, 2007, the last day of a three-day weekend that America sets aside every year to honor its war dead and its war veterans.

We here in America carry this out with speeches and ceremonies and the playing of Taps at our cemeteries. We hold festive entertainments with patriotic music and songs.

This general celebration, which includes a lot of flag waving and displays of Old Glory in front of our homes and along our streets, is the centerpiece and purpose of this three-day weekend.

Beyond that it’s all about fun gatherings of families and friends, eating and drinking and being merry, watching sporting events, traveling or just hanging loose and enjoying the freedom of a holiday.

As a combat veteran of the Vietnam War and as a person who hates needless war, warmongering and phony displays of patriotism, I despise Memorial Day because America does not truly honor her war dead, but dishonors them.

The only way to truly honor our war dead and those that have fought in our wars would be to tell the truth about why they died and why they fought and why there must come a day – in honor of them – when we must put a stop to needless war and the killing and maiming, the ruining of lives and the heartbreak and suffering that comes from it.

The last time an American soldier died or fought for our freedom was World War II. That is the plain fact and the plain truth. To say that any soldier since World War II fought or gave up his life in order that we might enjoy our freedom is a horrible mistake in reasoning.

It is a horrible mistake because it is not just a mistake but a mistake that perpetuates and promotes our insatiable appetite for needless war and needless death and suffering under the guise that it was all for the cause of freedom.

No, it wasn’t. Every soldier that has died or fought under the American flag since World War II has done it because of the immoral and wrong-headed policies of our presidents and government leaders, backed by the ignorant and phony patriotism of the masses…those same masses that still believe even to this day that each one of our war dead gave up their lives for our freedom.

No, they didn’t. They gave up their lives because they were soldiers doing their duty. Soldiers don’t give up their lives or fight for our freedom. They give up their lives because of their duty as soldiers to follow orders…orders that come down from the commander-in-chief and government leaders, backed by the ignorant and phony patriotic masses, and which don’t have a thing in the world to do with freedom.

It is understandable why the people believe that our war dead died for our freedom. They want to believe it. They want to believe that our soldiers didn’t die in vain but for the great and noble cause of freedom. They need to believe it because it would be too shocking and hateful to their senses to consider the possibility that they all fought and died for nothing.

One can only imagine how much harder it would be for the masses to believe that they themselves must share a part of the blame for our soldiers dying for nothing.

And yet, that is the fact and the plain truth. We dishonor our war dead and call for more of the same every Memorial Day when we sing praises to the lie while the truth lies moldering in the graves of our national cemeteries marked by the many lines of flag fluttering headstones that hear nothing, not even the sound of Taps.

It would do true honor to our war dead if we marked these Memorial Day celebrations with truthful observations and vows that we will go forth and put a stop to these needless deaths caused by these needless wars and that we will now take up the fight for peace and try to make it up to them as much as we can.

Right now, this Memorial Day, 2007, while we are engaged in an illegal and unjust war of our own making in Iraq under the same old guise of freedom that we’ve been using to make war for more than a half-century, would be a good day to stand up for our war dead who cannot stand up for themselves and say to the president, the government leaders and the mindless masses –we, here and now, declare war on needless war from this time forward.

Never again will we stand idly by while our young are sent off to kill and die for nothing more than for the lying vanity, misguided policies and phony patriotism of our presidents and government leaders backed by the ignorant, rolling thunder of our flag waving masses.

Naman Crowe

Mr Crowe makes some very good points ...

[Shadoglare]

Yeah... took me about 5 seconds to scan it for the "We shouldn't be in Iraq" statement that I was assuming a title posted as such would boil down to...

[TGRR]

Originally Posted by Shadoglare

Yeah... took me about 5 seconds to scan it for the "We shouldn't be in Iraq" statement that I was assuming a title posted as such would boil down to...

Why read an opposing viewpoint, after all?

[Shadoglare]

Originally Posted by TGRR

Why read an opposing viewpoint, after all?

Because it's beating a dead horse. Say something new, and maybe I'll consider reading it.

[TGRR]

Originally Posted by Shadoglare

Because it's beating a dead horse. Say something new, and maybe I'll consider reading it.

How do you know the OP didn't post something new? You didn't read it. By your own admission, you only scanned it.

So I kinda have to doubt you would consider reading it.

[86Dude]

The author is correct. It makes me ill.

[Corporate Avenger]

The only way to truly honor our war dead and those that have fought in our wars would be to tell the truth about why they died and why they fought and why there must come a day – in honor of them – when we must put a stop to needless war and the killing and maiming, the ruining of lives and the heartbreak and suffering that comes from it.

The last time an American soldier died or fought for our freedom was World War II. That is the plain fact and the plain truth. To say that any soldier since World War II fought or gave up his life in order that we might enjoy our freedom is a horrible mistake in reasoning.

It is a horrible mistake because it is not just a mistake but a mistake that perpetuates and promotes our insatiable appetite for needless war and needless death and suffering under the guise that it was all for the cause of freedom.

No, it wasn’t. Every soldier that has died or fought under the American flag since World War II has done it because of the immoral and wrong-headed policies of our presidents and government leaders, backed by the ignorant and phony patriotism of the masses…those same masses that still believe even to this day that each one of our war dead gave up their lives for our freedom.

A-focking-men....


It makes me cringe everytime I hear somebody say that needless wars like the one in Iraq are being fought for our freedom, as if Saddam was trying to take ours away. And especially disgusting considering the continual assault on our freedoms the government wages against us ordinary citizens.

If the military wants to say they are defending our freedoms, they better get their asses into Washington DC and "shock and awe" the DEA, and use copies of the Patriot act as toilet paper after they've rendered it null and void by every means necessary. Until then they are just mercenary's for Halliburton, Bechtel, Northrop, ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, ChevronTexaco, Carlyle Group, etc..


The founders fought and gave us our freedoms, right now the US military is doing nothing to defend our freedoms, they are just acting as pawns of the state that has taken many of them away..

And it's treasonous that any soldier die for the bastards that run this country.

Heads in baskets for them all.

[PlatyGuy]

Originally Posted by Shadoglare

Because it's beating a dead horse. Say something new, and maybe I'll consider reading it.

More like beating a dead hawk, and it's only dead from the neck up. So sorry if pointing out the truth is tiresome. Maybe if you'd listen just once the lesson wouldn't have to keep being repeated.

[JoeyNormal]

Originally Posted by Shadoglare

Yeah... took me about 5 seconds to scan it for the "We shouldn't be in Iraq" statement that I was assuming a title posted as such would boil down to...

So what war were you in?

Kinda weak to whine about a veteran's opposition to war unless you've seen the elephant too, don't you think?

[soylentgreen]

Somehow, I think that if we were not in Iraq right now, this guy would not feel that America "dishonors" her fallen soldiers with cookouts and merriment.

[Shadoglare]

No, it wasn’t. Every soldier that has died or fought under the American flag since World War II has done it because of the immoral and wrong-headed policies of our presidents and government leaders, backed by the ignorant and phony patriotism of the masses…

So, basically, unless we've been physically attacked first, it's illegal and immoral to attack somebody.
Same argument, different words. After reading it more closely, I still stick with my "this guy has nothing to say we haven't already heard before" stance.
The fact that he served (apparently against his will) makes this no less the case.

[soylentgreen]

The author claims no American fought for our freedom since WWII. But, if we apply the standards of today to 1941, I don't think you could make the case that the Pearl Harbor attack was threatening the liberties of very many Americans. Certainly, the mainland was never seriously threatened by either Germany or Japan.

The fact of the matter is, our government stripped the citizens of many rights during WWII. The media was censored (something that has not happened under GWB)...and American citizens of Japanese decent were rounded up and put in camps (also something that has not happened under GWB).

[Java_man]

Originally Posted by soylentgreen

The author claims no American fought for our freedom since WWII. But, if we apply the standards of today to 1941, I don't think you could make the case that the Pearl Harbor attack was threatening the liberties of very many Americans. Certainly, the mainland was never seriously threatened by either Germany or Japan.

You have GOT to be kidding ... what an insane comment

The fact of the matter is, our government stripped the citizens of many rights during WWII. The media was censored (something that has not happened under GWB)...and American citizens of Japanese decent were rounded up and put in camps (also something that has not happened under GWB).

What does this attempted deflection have to do with anything?

[Dogberry]

A Three day memorial???

Thats a bit excessive isnt it?

You guys have a veterans day and a rememberance day too no?

[Shadoglare]

Originally Posted by Dogberry

A Three day memorial???

Thats a bit excessive isnt it?

You guys have a veterans day and a rememberance day too no?

It's actually only one day, but it falls on a monday so people use it as an excuse to celebrate the whole weekend...

[86Dude]

Memorial day isn't exclusively to honor dead soldiers.

[Dogberry]

Originally Posted by Shadoglare

It's actually only one day, but it falls on a monday so people use it as an excuse to celebrate the whole weekend...

Sounds awful.

Who else does it commemorate then Dude?

We have rememberance day and that is pretty much it.

[Java_man]

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service.

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873.

By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war).

It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.

http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html

Southerners are slow to get with the program ... no ?

[Dogberry]

OH OK thanks, still seems a little OTT but each to his own I guess.

[86Dude]

All the graves in the local cemetaries around here are decorated on memorial day. It's not exclusive to soldiers at least in this area.