Thank you Steven for shining a light on the true meaning of Memorial Day. We must not loose sight of what America has stood for and fought for. Remembering the sacrifice our men and women have made, and continue to make to keep our Democratic dream alive.
May the experiment begun during President Washington's lifetime, the faith in the self-evident truths of humanity, that led so many to pay the ultimate sacrifice, persist through these troubled times.
Those of us who value democracy can sincerely appreciate the sacrifices made in the service to our country. The men and women who died and the families that grieved gave so much to preserve our freedoms. The current government is trying to negate the death and losses of our veterans and families, we cannot allow them to disparage the valor of our military.
When I was teaching the poetry unit in an introduction to literature class, I would always include Wilfred Owen's "Dulci et Decorum est" paired with Randall Jarrell's "Eighth Air Force," because the two poems show the effect on the soldiers who fight it, whether that war is dubious, as with World War I or morally necessary, as with World War II. I often had to give basic history lessons as background. That meant explaining the trench warfare and mustard gas of World War I. It also meant explaining that the Eighth Air Force endured half of all Army Air Force Casualties. (They were accustomed to the fewer plane losses of the Gulf War and afterwards.) So many of my freshman and sophomore students did not know the history. Were their schools failing them? Perhaps. However, American society does not talk about that history in a way that educates the next generation.
Beaches. Barbecues. Family gatherings. All made possible by the sacrifices you so eloquently describe, Steve. Thank you for helping remember the real reason for Memorial Day.
Four brothers from Ohio. Ancestors of mine. One with an ailment severe enough that he could not serve in the military but went on to work with a precursor of the Red Cross.
Two others enlist with their neighbors in the 2nd Regiment, Ohio Cavalry and the third with the 105th Ohio Infantry.
Before the war ends, all three are dead: One killed somewhere somehow in Missouri, a second in a small Virginia skirmish and the third of wounds suffered in the three-day Battle of Chickamauga in northern Georgia.
The brother who survived went on to be a school district superintendent and then a county judge in Cleveland. What would his brothers have accomplished? Or the rest of the more than 620,000 to as many as 850,000 killed? Or if Lincoln had not been murdered and had somehow managed Reconstruction to be successful?
I hope your column gets readers to stop, if only for a few minutes, and realize the blood and tears that have washed this nation over the two and a half centuries.
And yet, many Southern states didn't recognize Memorial Day for decades. Instead, those in power created Confederate Memorial Day to honor the glorious dead and to perpetuate the traitorous Lost Cause narrative created by native Athens, Ga., resident Mildred Lewis Rutherford. What barbarity. So shameful. It's STILL a state holiday in April, though the name has changed. Jesus, take the wheel.
Thanks Steven, your piece today gives us a sense of history that so many in this country, and certainly our corrupt president and his lemmings choose to forget. I am a 76 year old mother of 3, and while I may not live to see the end of this nightmare, I hope my children live to see a return to the values and commitment of the America I knew. May those lemmings follow their fool of an empower right off the cliff.
Thank you for your loyalty to our country and expressing what it means to so many of us. The veterans who have kept us safe in prior years have dedicated their lives to service. Their Commander-in-Chief should be a person of integrity and law abiding. I believe our future is bright. Intelligent and honorable leaders will lead our nation back to a happy, safe, and just place to live.
Steven, Your piece is so thought provoking! Was a lesson learned by the great Civil War…a nation divided…Americans killing other Americans...perhaps not! For here we are again…divided again. Is the ultimate outcome inevitable!! I hope to God not!!!!
May we muster strength and hope in these dark days by drawing on the legacy of those whose courage and selflessness we honor on Memorial Day. They faced unimaginable hardship-- existential, dehumanizing, terrifying-- and resisted it. We can, we must, do the same. Thanks for this reminder.
Thank you Steven for shining a light on the true meaning of Memorial Day. We must not loose sight of what America has stood for and fought for. Remembering the sacrifice our men and women have made, and continue to make to keep our Democratic dream alive.
May the experiment begun during President Washington's lifetime, the faith in the self-evident truths of humanity, that led so many to pay the ultimate sacrifice, persist through these troubled times.
Those of us who value democracy can sincerely appreciate the sacrifices made in the service to our country. The men and women who died and the families that grieved gave so much to preserve our freedoms. The current government is trying to negate the death and losses of our veterans and families, we cannot allow them to disparage the valor of our military.
Perfectly said. Thank you!
When I was teaching the poetry unit in an introduction to literature class, I would always include Wilfred Owen's "Dulci et Decorum est" paired with Randall Jarrell's "Eighth Air Force," because the two poems show the effect on the soldiers who fight it, whether that war is dubious, as with World War I or morally necessary, as with World War II. I often had to give basic history lessons as background. That meant explaining the trench warfare and mustard gas of World War I. It also meant explaining that the Eighth Air Force endured half of all Army Air Force Casualties. (They were accustomed to the fewer plane losses of the Gulf War and afterwards.) So many of my freshman and sophomore students did not know the history. Were their schools failing them? Perhaps. However, American society does not talk about that history in a way that educates the next generation.
Two powerful poems. Thank you for your work.
Beaches. Barbecues. Family gatherings. All made possible by the sacrifices you so eloquently describe, Steve. Thank you for helping remember the real reason for Memorial Day.
Four brothers from Ohio. Ancestors of mine. One with an ailment severe enough that he could not serve in the military but went on to work with a precursor of the Red Cross.
Two others enlist with their neighbors in the 2nd Regiment, Ohio Cavalry and the third with the 105th Ohio Infantry.
Before the war ends, all three are dead: One killed somewhere somehow in Missouri, a second in a small Virginia skirmish and the third of wounds suffered in the three-day Battle of Chickamauga in northern Georgia.
The brother who survived went on to be a school district superintendent and then a county judge in Cleveland. What would his brothers have accomplished? Or the rest of the more than 620,000 to as many as 850,000 killed? Or if Lincoln had not been murdered and had somehow managed Reconstruction to be successful?
I hope your column gets readers to stop, if only for a few minutes, and realize the blood and tears that have washed this nation over the two and a half centuries.
“Your job is not to finish the work—but neither are you, the child of free people, not to do your share.”
A Jewish aphorism shared by Norm Eisen at The Contrarian today.
We carry their mantle now, of those who sacrificed their all for freedom. We owe it to them and to those yet unborn to rise to the task at hand.
And yet, many Southern states didn't recognize Memorial Day for decades. Instead, those in power created Confederate Memorial Day to honor the glorious dead and to perpetuate the traitorous Lost Cause narrative created by native Athens, Ga., resident Mildred Lewis Rutherford. What barbarity. So shameful. It's STILL a state holiday in April, though the name has changed. Jesus, take the wheel.
Thanks Steven, your piece today gives us a sense of history that so many in this country, and certainly our corrupt president and his lemmings choose to forget. I am a 76 year old mother of 3, and while I may not live to see the end of this nightmare, I hope my children live to see a return to the values and commitment of the America I knew. May those lemmings follow their fool of an empower right off the cliff.
Thank you for your loyalty to our country and expressing what it means to so many of us. The veterans who have kept us safe in prior years have dedicated their lives to service. Their Commander-in-Chief should be a person of integrity and law abiding. I believe our future is bright. Intelligent and honorable leaders will lead our nation back to a happy, safe, and just place to live.
Steven, Your piece is so thought provoking! Was a lesson learned by the great Civil War…a nation divided…Americans killing other Americans...perhaps not! For here we are again…divided again. Is the ultimate outcome inevitable!! I hope to God not!!!!
Thank you, Steven. Beautiful post.
Absolutely Steven, absolutely.
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Wonderful article today. Thank you so much for all the history. Enjoy your weekend.
Much honor to all our veterans
May we muster strength and hope in these dark days by drawing on the legacy of those whose courage and selflessness we honor on Memorial Day. They faced unimaginable hardship-- existential, dehumanizing, terrifying-- and resisted it. We can, we must, do the same. Thanks for this reminder.