‘Merica — A culture of empty excess
Another Memorial Day…
Another pointless party day
I grew up around military bases because Father was a career Navy man. Memorial Day used to be kind of a big deal. There was meaning in the day. On whichever base he was stationed, we always attended sober events honoring the fallen.
The mornings began with attending solemn events with historical exhibits. Afterward, there was often an air show or a guided tour of the big ships, equally thrilling in their own right to children. And later, when I was in youth group, the church sent us to the local VA lodge to visit with the vets.
Okay, after giving the fallen their solemn due, there was a community picnic. Knowing that was in store for us made us all more agreeable to the more somber observances. Those picnics were fun days full of games, mounds of food, and happily rowdy kids squealing and running around having lots of fun. That was Memorial Day in the 1960s and 70s when I was growing up.
Since the 1980s, the meaning has been bleeding from the day.
Fast forward to Memorial Day 2024. Where is the solemn due for our fallen? Today, the barest lip service is paid to honoring of the fallen. Memorial Day is just a celebration of empty excess.
