Playing with Gemini for coding a website is so much easier….
Memorial Day
We all know that Memorial Day is the day to celebrate those past and present who have served their country, many giving what Lincoln called the “last full measure of devotion.” The tradition of honoring our soldiers goes back further than the declaration of the last Monday in May. It began after the Civil War as “Decoration Day” in the North and in the South as “Confederate Memorial Day.”
Civilizations dating back to Roman times honored their war dead with ceremonies and honor. It has been in more recent times that not only fallen soldiers, but those who have served and are still serving are included in the ceremonies. Here in the United States, this has taken on special meaning with the wars in the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan as well as many other skirmishes around the globe. In addition, those who rushed to serve after 9/11 deserve special recognition for seeing something so horrible and using it as a motivator to serve and protect their country from those who would do us harm.
Many recent events have also shown us that not only the men and women in the armed services, but those closer to home, the first responders: Police, Fire, EMS, and even teachers are worthy of our honor and celebration on Memorial Day. Too often lately, we’ve seen them as well as our soldiers in harms way give the ultimate sacrifice. There is no dedicated holiday for them. There should be and unless and until then, Memorial Day seems a perfect day to honor them as well.
Our war in Iraq has wound down and we’re beginning to bring home the rest of our soldiers from Afghanistan. There are other scary places in the world that they could be called to at any moment. Let’s not forget the special forces guys who are out there doing things you don’t really like to think about, but that make this world a safer place. Most that know me know that I’m a fan of Aaron Sorkin’s work. In “A Few Good Men,” when defending her client Lt. Cdr. JoAnne Galloway says that she “likes them so much,” “Because they stand on a wall and say, “Nothing’s going to hurt you tonight, not on my watch.”
One of my favorite movies is Saving Private Ryan. For all of the great action and story about a group of soldiers who became family, the final scene of the movie sums it up. Private James Ryan, 50 years later standing over the grave of Captain Miller, who gave his life in a last ditch effort to make sure that he got home to his parents who had lost all of their other sons in the war. That scene will have me crying my eyes out every time I watch it.
When I watch it, I think of the final part of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address:
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth
One of the most beautiful places in this grand country of ours is Arlington National Cemetery. If you’ve never been there, it needs to be on your bucket list. Business travel used to take me to the DC area several times a year and every single time, I would make time to go over there and wander through the sections, looking at the names on the gravestones, seeing the different memorials and stopping to watch the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns. It is a special sight to see and the men who guard that tomb are among the most honorable this country has to honor.
I found a quote today, by Eric Burdon as I was doing a little reading that I instantly liked. It reminds us, as I’ve said to honor the dead, but also the living:
On Memorial Day, I don’t want to only remember the combatants. There were also those who came out of the trenches as writers and poets, who started preaching peace, men and women who have made this world a kinder place to live.
On Monday, when you’re grilling out, enjoying the lake, spending time with your family, take a minute to remember all of those who “gave the last full measure of devotion,” those who have served and those who are still out there today, standing on that wall, watching over you tonight.
“It’s the end of the world as we know it…”
I believe that to be true. Not that I think the world is coming to an end due to this pandemic, but I do think that as a society things will change forever after this. Its forcing us to address things that progressives have wanted to address for a long time, such as Universal Basic Income and the control that certain sectors of our economy have on our financial well-being. In addition, it’s forcing us to more quickly deal with the inevitable death of brick and mortar retail and the way that restaurants operate. I’ve got more thoughts about that stuff later. This has the potential to change the world, for the better, forever.
My hope is that we come out the other side of this stronger, better, faster. Just kidding. I hope it causes us all to slow down a bit and think about the things that are important. To realize that life isn’t such a rat race and that it’s certainly not a race to consume everything we can get our grubby little hands on. My hope is that we can continue to look out for one another, to allow seniors and others who need special consideration have the stores for the first bit of each day, to check in on our neighbors and make sure they have what they need.
Right Matters
Whether the Republicans in the Senate choose to do the right thing or not, this…this statement…is going to be taught in the history books for generations. My hope is that it’s as an example of the night our Republic was saved…not when it was lost.
“If the truth doesn’t matter, we’re lost. The framers couldn’t protect us from ourselves if right and truth don’t matter. And you know that what he did was not right. Right is supposed to matter. It’s what’s made us the greatest nation on Earth. No constitution can protect us, if right doesn’t matter any more. And you know you can’t trust this president to do what’s right for this country. You can trust he will do what’s right for Donald Trump. He’ll do it now. He’s done it before. He’ll do it for the next several months. He’ll do it in the election if he’s allowed to. This is why, if you find him guilty, you must find that he should be removed. Because right matters. And the truth matters. Otherwise we are lost.”
Adam Schiff
23 January 2020
Do you want to be happier?
I didn’t even realize it was happening and before I knew it, I was addicted. It went on for years. Every day. Multiple times a day. Every free second I had. As soon as I woke up. Last thing before I went to bed. It had me.
Facebook.
What started out as a cool way to blog about what I was doing and keep in touch with life-long friends that I’d lost touch with slowly became arguments, hatred, racism, sexism, bigotry, partisanship.
I wasn’t innocent. I posted my share of partisan information, because like everyone else I felt it was the truth. I didn’t do it to change anyone’s minds, I did it to let those that think like me know that they weren’t alone.
The problem was, I kept finding out that people I know, people I grew up with, people I respected…are racist, sexist, homophobic, intolerant, and just plain ignorant. It made me sad. It made me angry. It disappointed me. The arguments never got resolved, no one’s minds were changed. All that I was left with at the end of the day was that disappointment.
One day, after a particularly disturbing…conversation…I decided it was enough. I decided to tell everyone I was logging off, made a post with my contact information via other channels and I logged out. I logged out on my phone, logged out of messenger, logged out on all of my devices and walked away.
At first, I felt the draw…the call… I should log in and check, see what’s going on. That’s when I knew it was truly an addiction and that strengthened my resolve NOT to login. It had a hold on me and I needed to escape.
It’s been a couple of months now, and I checked back once to see if I’d missed any messages. I had and re-posted my contact info so that everyone would know not to expect any response via FB any time soon.
You know what?
It feels great. I don’t miss it. I’m happier. I have so much more free time. I’ll just let everyone else continue to yell at each other and argue about things that they’ll never change their minds about. I’m off to work in the yard, play with my granddaughter, read a book…
Try it. Sign out. Log off. Just step away for a while. It’s ok. You’ll feel weird at first but it will pass. You’ll feel great and after a while, you won’t even miss it.