Memorial Day Update

It's Memorial Day, which means it's time to have a day off (or in my case go in to work even though it's a holiday), have a cookout (or in our case, cook some brats on Jorge because there's no sense in heating up the entire grill for just that), and spend time with friends and family (which today meant playing a little Totally 80's Trivial Pursuit out on the porch while dogs chased squirrels and robins). I think there is something else about this day but I can never really remember what. (Ok, end of update on what we did today, beginning of soapbox)

Memorial Day is a day when we are supposed to remember those who have lost their lives in military service. It doesn't matter what the war is, it doesn't matter what you or I or anyone else thinks of any of the wars.^* The fact of the matter is that without the people who have been willing to give their lives over the years, the rest of us wouldn't be living the same lives we do now. That's the point of this holiday.

I've been fairly critical in past on this site of the magnetic ribbon movement, not because I have ever not believed in supporting the troops, but because (1) the profits were going almost exclusively to businesses rather than any sort of organization that would do anything to help and (2) it always felt lacking because it was nothing more than symbolic support (which is important, but only when coupled with tangible support). It does more for those of us here than those who need the support.

Remember that every soldier out there is the son, daughter, mother, father, husband, wife, brother or sister of somebody else. We ask many of these people to leave higher paying jobs when they are called up from the reserves. We ask them to leave their families for extended periods of time. We ask them to risk their lives, risk grave physical harm, risk emotional trauma the likes of which almost none of us can comprehend. We ask them to go places we would not go, and to face horrors we would not face, and when they return home, we ask them to please just go back to pretending that everything is the same it always was, because anything else would make us uncomfortable.

What am I asking? (and I'm talking to myself as much as anyone) I'm asking all of us to get up off our butts and do something. Go find a veteran and tell them thanks. Go find the family of someone who is serving overseas and find out if there is anything you can do for them. Find an organization where you can volunteer. Do a little research and find out where a donation is needed and would be used well (there are places with all sorts of information on the web that will tell you who uses donations for their cause and who uses them for salaries of the people running the organization). Don't just think about these people one or two days a year. They are still out there every day risking their lives, I think they deserve at least that much.

Sorry for the soapbox, but I've got to do it every once in a while about something, even if it is mixed in with the silly trivia that is the rest of this site.


^*In reference to the sacrifices that were/are being made and to the holiday. Of course it matters what we think, otherwise this is all in vain.