Memorial Day Weekend

John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."

Memorial day weekend is upon us so that means the unofficial beginning of summer for most Americans. The beaches are preparing for an influx of tourists; school is out or soon will be; the Indy 500 and Nascar in Charlotte will draw hundreds of thousands of race fans; baseball parks will see an increase in attendance; family barbecues will be a popular destination. Summer is a wonderful time! But what about Memorial Day?

Designated by congress to recognize our fallen heroes who have died as a part of the fight for freedom over our 234 year history as a nation, Memorial Day seems to have lost much of it's meaning to us. We continue to be a culture focused upon ourselves neglecting the price that has been paid so that we could engross ourselves in such opulent lifestyles. On TV movies depicting the sacrifice of our soldiers used to dominate the airwaves on this weekend, but few can be found anymore. Our president is not even attending the services at Arlington National Cemetery in favor of a trip to Chicago. Memorial Day seems to have about as much meaning to us as Arbor Day or Earth Day, maybe less in some peoples eyes.

For many in our nation and across the world our military has become a symbol of evil and oppression. Motivated by a hate for America that borders on the obscene, critics let no chance slip by to call out and criticize those who sacrifice the most among us. The lot of a soldier is daily, life threatening peril separated by thousands of miles from those they love most. For this they receive scant pay and less appreciation. For most of us the words Duty, Honor, Country mean little anymore. But thankfully we have those who serve us who still believe in the foundational principles our nation was birthed by, and are willing to lay their lives on the line to protect those freedoms we seem willing to abandon more and more.

This past week the talk regarding our military centered around the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell;" instead of the fact we lost our 1,000th soldier in the war on terror in Afghanistan. When the news media thought they could influence an election the body count in Iraq led the newscasts, but now it receives hardly a mention or is relegated to back page blurbs in our newspapers. Battles with names like Bunker Hill, Tyconderoga, Cowpens, Kings Mountain, Yorktown, or Bull Run, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, used to stir us with emotion regarding those who fought and died for the freedom of all men. Names like York, Pershing, Patton, MacArthur, Eisenhower or Bradley used to be honored with pride for the victories they brought and the evil they overcame. Now they are not even mentioned in our history books.

I honestly do not believe that if we were faced with the situation that our founding fathers were faced with in 1776 we would emerge as an independent nation, and a force for good throughout the world if our leaders today were in charge. Is their anyone among us who would cry out as Patrick Henry did, "Give me liberty, or give me death?" Is their anyone among us who can lead as George Washington did at Valley Forge? Is their anyone with the courage of an Abraham Lincoln to defend the basic principles of the constitution that "all men are created equal?" Today's leaders are more interested in public opinion, re-election and power than standing for principle and doing what's right. How many have the humility and grace of Washington to serve just 2 terms and then step down, when absolute power was his for the taking, or to honor the Creator by adding the words "so help me God" to the presidential oath.

The United States is not nor has it ever been a perfect nation. We have certainly been guilty of grievous sins such as our treatment of native Americans and slavery. But for the most part, in our history, we have confessed and repented of those sins. Does that same attitude exist today? We live in a time where their are no absolutes anymore, and the lines between right and wrong have been blurred to the point that they are indistinguishable. On this Memorial Day let us celebrate one of the things that is clearly right about our nation. The courage and sacrifice of the men and women in our armed services, those who have been asked to pay the ultimate cost for us. God bless, and God save America!