This distills and frames very well how I feel about Memorial Weekend in light of the recent events. Those that gave the ultimate sacrifice for love of country and the democracy it represents. I have served in the military and upheld the oath I took all my life. This is why I am so angry about the cop killing violent insurrection by domestic terrorists of Jan. 6th. And to this day the GOP still says it was a peaceful demonstration and no big deal. I will never forget, you should never forget how we almost lost democracy that day and this will not be the last attempt. I will VOTE...you should VOTE
I will start with this: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for another."
Then, I follow with this: “A seditious conspiracy—when you take those two concepts and put it together—is among the most serious crimes an American can commit. It is an offense against the government to use force. It is an offense against the people of our country,” Mehta said.
Excerpt: ". . . among the most serious crimes an American can commit." And, there goes Donald J. Trump, a national criminal in every respect; in every aspect.
As a Veteran who served in classified Intel overseas as a very young Staff Sergeant, I wince in outrage and anger at what Trump and his minions are doing, and have done, to our republic. They are toxic irritants, a vile disease that plagues our nation. The very system they offend is the very system that assures them justice under our rule of law. They spit in its face. Trump defecates on the very principles that serve to protect him.
400,000+ gave of life during WW2 fighting against an evil monster, Hitler, who Trump worships. What might we say to those thousands of the memorialized deceased? “Oh, gee, I am sorry that we have forfeited the very honor you fought to preserve for us?” The hideousness of the Trumps in America forms a vile poison. Those once-vital souls who fought so valiantly shall NEVER be seen as "losers" and "suckers", a depiction set before us by Trump. The very fact Trump has followers tells a story of failure; our nation’s failure. Those decrepit men and women are our nation’s failure. The battles fought and won in the Atlantic and the Pacific were hard won, lives abruptly curtailed. The greatest honor we can give to the fallen and to the wounded is to assure that the fascism that is now on the loose in the United States will fail, and fail thunderously.
And thank you, Jacqueline! Trump can be emotionally draining, which he knows. It is no wonder his mother is reported to have said she did like Donald. That's an easy one. Trump seeks to wear us all down. He won't because we know that plays right into his evil scheme.
We honor those who gave their life to defend our right to control our own lives. We are governed, not pawns owned by our leaders. It is a good day to decide which side of this coup you are on.
In loving memory I thank past heroes for the wonderful life I have had because of their sacrifice. I have lived at the best time, in the best place ever, I'm sure. I feel very lucky.
I read every word of your message and loved it. I will write a substack today about the words used by Trump (losers and suckers) when visiting France to honor the end of WWI. He also said "he didn't get it." Trump belongs behind bars, but I am not as confident as you that he will end up there.
The Bible tells us that God sacrificed his only begotten son to save our souls. How is that different from the mothers and fathers of America sacrificing their sons and now daughters to save the soul of America? Those men protected our way of life and kept us safe. They laid down their lives for me and you.
What is war? It is an uncivilized conflagration resulting in death & destruction started by a person desperate for power who pursues it by inciting followers to take over land. As a result, 646,596 American soldiers since the Revolutionary War have given all.
I had ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War & the Spanish American War. Fortunately, to my knowledge, none died. My brother was an Air Force officer saved from possible death in Korea, for that is where his unit was sent while he had come home because our father had a heart attack . Brother left the service, went to seminary at Emory, then reentered as a chaplain for ever after, he & Dad convinced God had saved him by way of the heart attack.
I just finished a Pulitzer Prize winning book & one named "The Women" about Viet Nam. What those soldiers endured,saw, suffered for mistaken American policy by presidents & generals
was an emotional reading trip.
For that coward whose father got a doctor friend to say he could stay home because of bone spurs is maddening. How dare he call those scared but brave soldiers losers & suckers?
Hopefully, while they are busy grilling hamburgers & enjoying a day off work, people will remember to honor those who made it possible .
Yes, another year has gone by, Steven. Your eloquent words fly up, but our thoughts remain below: the lowlife of a thug, who is openly in service to his KGB-trained overlord Putin, has managed to keep his clammy little hands wrapped around our collective throats and is choking off our air supply.
What I find truly shocking, though, is that this thug is merely the figurehead of a fascist movement that has been gathering force for years and has its tentacles reaching into the highest levels of our government. But here we are.
I remain confident (well, 70:30) that Trump will lose the criminal case against him in New York. I guess we could find out this week itself, or next at the latest. It's not that he is going to see the inside of a jail cell anytime soon, but a just result will shift voters away from him. For it's plain as day - since he has been allowed to game our legal system to his advantage - that the survival of democracy will depend on the results of the November elections. But those results had better be clearcut enough to prevent the rightwing Justices on the Supreme Court from upholding the appeals that he will undoubtedly bring before them in order to give them cover for handing the election to him.
Please keep up your invaluable work. Your thoughtfulness lends us focus. But we need to spread the word to as many as we can that we are in an elemental fight of good versus evil. That is the least that we can do to honor those who gave their lives in service of our ideals.
We mustn’t forget the walking wounded either. Those veterans who return with missing limbs, traumatized brains, bad knees, backs and other physical after effects of service. And the memories of buddies who got blown to bits from IED’s, mortars or any of the myriad weapons of war. The dead should never be forgotten but the survivors shouldn’t be either.
If trump wins, will there even be a Memorial Day 2025? After all he considers those that died in service to their country “losers”.
If we ever get trump into a federal courtroom and convicted, if Rhodes got 18 years and trump was the instigator of the insurrection, what would be an appropriate sentence?
Although I am a Vietnam Era Veteran myself (serving only stateside), I do not know anyone, including ancestors, who died in combat. I honor those today who died in service to our Country. And I also honor today a great uncle who died during and because of war—in prison for being a conscientious objector during WW I.
It was sickening to see today a truck parade of flag waving trump supporters who see no insult to the honoring our war dead on Memorial Day and their worship of the only US President so contemptuous of those who have given their last devotion to our country.
@StevenBeschloss you expressed what is really important so beautifully. Memorial Day is for honoring real patriots, who sacrificed their lived so that we can live in a Democracy. Yes, WE MUST VOTE and WE MUST GO OUT AND EXPLAIN TO UNDECIDED VOTERS THE IMPORTANCE OF VOTING TO SAVE OUR DEMOCRACY AGAIN. 🇺🇸
This distills and frames very well how I feel about Memorial Weekend in light of the recent events. Those that gave the ultimate sacrifice for love of country and the democracy it represents. I have served in the military and upheld the oath I took all my life. This is why I am so angry about the cop killing violent insurrection by domestic terrorists of Jan. 6th. And to this day the GOP still says it was a peaceful demonstration and no big deal. I will never forget, you should never forget how we almost lost democracy that day and this will not be the last attempt. I will VOTE...you should VOTE
well said. and thank you for your service to our country.
I will start with this: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for another."
Then, I follow with this: “A seditious conspiracy—when you take those two concepts and put it together—is among the most serious crimes an American can commit. It is an offense against the government to use force. It is an offense against the people of our country,” Mehta said.
Excerpt: ". . . among the most serious crimes an American can commit." And, there goes Donald J. Trump, a national criminal in every respect; in every aspect.
As a Veteran who served in classified Intel overseas as a very young Staff Sergeant, I wince in outrage and anger at what Trump and his minions are doing, and have done, to our republic. They are toxic irritants, a vile disease that plagues our nation. The very system they offend is the very system that assures them justice under our rule of law. They spit in its face. Trump defecates on the very principles that serve to protect him.
400,000+ gave of life during WW2 fighting against an evil monster, Hitler, who Trump worships. What might we say to those thousands of the memorialized deceased? “Oh, gee, I am sorry that we have forfeited the very honor you fought to preserve for us?” The hideousness of the Trumps in America forms a vile poison. Those once-vital souls who fought so valiantly shall NEVER be seen as "losers" and "suckers", a depiction set before us by Trump. The very fact Trump has followers tells a story of failure; our nation’s failure. Those decrepit men and women are our nation’s failure. The battles fought and won in the Atlantic and the Pacific were hard won, lives abruptly curtailed. The greatest honor we can give to the fallen and to the wounded is to assure that the fascism that is now on the loose in the United States will fail, and fail thunderously.
Well said, Vince. Thank you.
Well stated. Thanks Vince.
And thank you, Jacqueline! Trump can be emotionally draining, which he knows. It is no wonder his mother is reported to have said she did like Donald. That's an easy one. Trump seeks to wear us all down. He won't because we know that plays right into his evil scheme.
Beautifully said, Steven, as always. Thank you for being a leader and defender of freedom and democracy!
Agree. Steven said it with the sensitivity and passion that our democracy deserves.
We honor those who gave their life to defend our right to control our own lives. We are governed, not pawns owned by our leaders. It is a good day to decide which side of this coup you are on.
In loving memory I thank past heroes for the wonderful life I have had because of their sacrifice. I have lived at the best time, in the best place ever, I'm sure. I feel very lucky.
I read every word of your message and loved it. I will write a substack today about the words used by Trump (losers and suckers) when visiting France to honor the end of WWI. He also said "he didn't get it." Trump belongs behind bars, but I am not as confident as you that he will end up there.
Elizabeth
www.democrazy2020.org
I agree with you. 45 will not end up behind bars. I fear that there will be at least 1 juror who will find reasonable doubt.
The Bible tells us that God sacrificed his only begotten son to save our souls. How is that different from the mothers and fathers of America sacrificing their sons and now daughters to save the soul of America? Those men protected our way of life and kept us safe. They laid down their lives for me and you.
They ALL laid down their lives for me and you. Not only the ones who died.
What is war? It is an uncivilized conflagration resulting in death & destruction started by a person desperate for power who pursues it by inciting followers to take over land. As a result, 646,596 American soldiers since the Revolutionary War have given all.
I had ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War & the Spanish American War. Fortunately, to my knowledge, none died. My brother was an Air Force officer saved from possible death in Korea, for that is where his unit was sent while he had come home because our father had a heart attack . Brother left the service, went to seminary at Emory, then reentered as a chaplain for ever after, he & Dad convinced God had saved him by way of the heart attack.
I just finished a Pulitzer Prize winning book & one named "The Women" about Viet Nam. What those soldiers endured,saw, suffered for mistaken American policy by presidents & generals
was an emotional reading trip.
For that coward whose father got a doctor friend to say he could stay home because of bone spurs is maddening. How dare he call those scared but brave soldiers losers & suckers?
Hopefully, while they are busy grilling hamburgers & enjoying a day off work, people will remember to honor those who made it possible .
Thanks Rita, Your post reminded me of a poem I wrote on Veterans Day.
Veteran’s Day
Sixteen years old, working in a bakery,
I reached over the counter, handed
A customer a cake. As four hands hold
The cake, he said softly, I’ve never told
Anyone about the horror
I saw as a soldier during the war.
Seventy years since that summer day
I have never forgotten his tortured
Eyes, tears, this man’s drawn face…
I often wonder why he chose me
This skinny teenage girl he didn’t know
To share his unbearable grief…
I was selling bread and sweets when
Brutal honesty, pain, and glory
Sought me out on a Saturday morning
With a precious gift, remembered a lifetime.
Thank you. For so many of them, back home is never the same, & the suffering continues, leading many to suicide.
Terrific thank you!
A beautiful and powerful poem, Lynn, with special resonance on this day.
Yes, another year has gone by, Steven. Your eloquent words fly up, but our thoughts remain below: the lowlife of a thug, who is openly in service to his KGB-trained overlord Putin, has managed to keep his clammy little hands wrapped around our collective throats and is choking off our air supply.
What I find truly shocking, though, is that this thug is merely the figurehead of a fascist movement that has been gathering force for years and has its tentacles reaching into the highest levels of our government. But here we are.
I remain confident (well, 70:30) that Trump will lose the criminal case against him in New York. I guess we could find out this week itself, or next at the latest. It's not that he is going to see the inside of a jail cell anytime soon, but a just result will shift voters away from him. For it's plain as day - since he has been allowed to game our legal system to his advantage - that the survival of democracy will depend on the results of the November elections. But those results had better be clearcut enough to prevent the rightwing Justices on the Supreme Court from upholding the appeals that he will undoubtedly bring before them in order to give them cover for handing the election to him.
Please keep up your invaluable work. Your thoughtfulness lends us focus. But we need to spread the word to as many as we can that we are in an elemental fight of good versus evil. That is the least that we can do to honor those who gave their lives in service of our ideals.
The work goes on until we are rid of his malignancy and stem the metastasizing cancer. Keep spreading the word, Homi.
Today as we honor everyone who has put their country first, may their courage and sacrifice never be forgotten.
We mustn’t forget the walking wounded either. Those veterans who return with missing limbs, traumatized brains, bad knees, backs and other physical after effects of service. And the memories of buddies who got blown to bits from IED’s, mortars or any of the myriad weapons of war. The dead should never be forgotten but the survivors shouldn’t be either.
If trump wins, will there even be a Memorial Day 2025? After all he considers those that died in service to their country “losers”.
If we ever get trump into a federal courtroom and convicted, if Rhodes got 18 years and trump was the instigator of the insurrection, what would be an appropriate sentence?
Why is no memorial to the COVID FALLEN as yet?
Although I am a Vietnam Era Veteran myself (serving only stateside), I do not know anyone, including ancestors, who died in combat. I honor those today who died in service to our Country. And I also honor today a great uncle who died during and because of war—in prison for being a conscientious objector during WW I.
Why is there no memorial to the COVID FALLEN as yet?
When your trumpist friends and family, those you still talk to, start spouting Memorial Day pieties, just email them this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv5HfKLLabE
It was sickening to see today a truck parade of flag waving trump supporters who see no insult to the honoring our war dead on Memorial Day and their worship of the only US President so contemptuous of those who have given their last devotion to our country.
@StevenBeschloss you expressed what is really important so beautifully. Memorial Day is for honoring real patriots, who sacrificed their lived so that we can live in a Democracy. Yes, WE MUST VOTE and WE MUST GO OUT AND EXPLAIN TO UNDECIDED VOTERS THE IMPORTANCE OF VOTING TO SAVE OUR DEMOCRACY AGAIN. 🇺🇸