The Real Meaning of Memorial Day

May 26, 2024 (Vol. 18 No. 24) - The world will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Invasion in just under two weeks. One can easily argue that June 6, 1944, was the most important day of the 20th century. Whether millions would live in freedom or under totalitarian rule hung in the balance as troops from Allied nations stormed the beaches of Normandy to liberate Nazi-occupied Europe. It is hard for me to believe that it has been 20 years since I visited those beaches, explored those battlefields, and walked through villages where the fighting was fiercest. However, my visit to the American Cemetery at Colleville-Saint-Laurent above Omaha Beach was the most emotional moment of my four-day tour. I was so moved that I wrote an essay that was published in the Lawrence Journal-World on the 60th anniversary of D-Day in 2004. In it, I noted that of the 9,350 American graves laid out on this now-peaceful plain above the English Channel, 307 of the crosses bear the inscription "Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God." As we approach this Memorial Day weekend, my thoughts do not automatically turn to the fun and joy of the coming summer. They first take me back to that date 20 years ago when I saw tangible evidence of the price of freedom on that bluff above what was once a bloody killing ground. Memorial Day is a day of remembrance. It is not Veteran's Day. The day for honoring those who have served in our armed forces is in November. Memorial Day is the day we remember those who made the supreme sacrifice so that present and future generations may live in freedom. One way we honor those who Abraham Lincoln said "gave the last full measure of devotion" is to respect the values for which they fought and died. Those values include equal justice and opportunity for all, fair and free elections, and respect for individual rights within a broader social context. It saddens me that many of our fellow Americans have lost sight of these fundamental tenants that form the basis of our civil society. The partisan tribalism that has defined the American 21st century experience runs contrary to those values we claim to hold dear. This is not a knock on conservatives or liberals, the religious or agnostic, and the rich or the poor. In a free society, all are entitled to have their voices heard within the marketplace of ideas. However, I will say that from the moment he rode down that escalator in his New York highrise in 2015, Donald Trump's craven and profane approach to governance has poisoned our public discourse. This does not mean that all of Trump's followers are - to use Hillary Clinton's ill-chosen characterization - "deplorables." We need to listen to them. And yes, they need to learn to listen to others, as well. After all, freedom of speech and the right to redress our grievances is one of the values for which service men and women have died over the nearly 250 years of the American Republic. If you truly want to honor our fallen heroes this Memorial Day, live the values for which they died. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. Photo of the American Cemetery at Colleville-Saint-Laurent, France, by David Guth.