Memorial Day: An Affirmation of Life and Liberty by E D Phillips
Rated "G" by the Author.
Last
edited: Monday, May 26, 2014
Posted: Monday, May 26, 2014
In 1884 Oliver Wendell Holmes gave an address in which he said; “…Year after year the comrades of the dead follow, with public honor, procession and commemorative flags and funeral march—honor and grief from us who stand almost alone, and have seen the best and noblest of our generation pass away.
But grief is not the end of all. I seem to hear the funeral march become a paean. I see beyond the forest the moving banners of a hidden column. Our dead brothers still live for us, and bid us think of life, not death—of life to which in their youth they lent the passion and joy of the spring. As I listen, the great chorus of life and joy begins again, and amid the awful orchestra of seen and unseen powers and destinies of good and evil our trumpets sound once more a note of daring, hope, and will.”
I believe he understood this day well. Liberty that is handed to us on a silver platter without the ghosts of those in attendance who made it possible is like a limp rag that is tossed aside and forgotten. Not all who serve are heroes, but all who die in the cause of justice show us what it means to live for something that is more precious than life. When we honor them, we honor ourselves. And by honoring ourselves we are less likely to stand idly by when tyrants move to take liberty from us. It’s a lesson worth remembering.
A wonderful quote. Oliver Wendell Holmes was certainly a man of the moment. As we move into a new century, our wars become more police actions with mercenary soldiers and with even more distance between the killers and the killed. Everything becomes mere ambush.
More and more, our youth do not know history, live in the moment, and don't think much about the future except how to keep up with it as it changes. It will be difficult to keep alive thoughts of the sacrifice of our ancestors as generations become more distant.
Like glorious war, Memorial Day will fade from our memory in due time.
Ron
Reviewed by DM Yates (Reader)
Reviewed on May 27, 2014
Excellent. Thank you for posting this. May we all remember this.
Once more a note of daring hope and will- well wriiten piece, only if people could be inspired, your this sound will reach many and make them think... Sometimes it requires we hammer into ourself the very basics of lifeJK
For the past two years (2006-2008) The Bridge of Silver Wings has earned a name for itself both as a series of poems published in different e-zines and as a book first published in 2007.
What makes this 2009 edition a special one is th
A short story of mine was included in an anthology of short fiction by fourteen of Port Town Publishing Company's authors. It is out of print and no longer available except as a download. Contact me at charlenetess@yahoo.com if you want it.
More and more, our youth do not know history, live in the moment, and don't think much about the future except how to keep up with it as it changes. It will be difficult to keep alive thoughts of the sacrifice of our ancestors as generations become more distant.
Like glorious war, Memorial Day will fade from our memory in due time.
Ron
Kathy