Memorial Day

A day of remembering those who gave their lives so our nation could be, survive and be free. It is also a great day to be mindful of all of those who sacrificed greatly (injury, treasure, loved ones) to make life possible for us in the modern era.

The people we remember today did not await perfect conditions to do their work to heed the call of duty. They perceived a greater need and responded with life, limb and effort.

Alan Cohen has admonished us accordingly:

“Do not wait until conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes conditions  perfect.”

Amen to that! See a need and find a way to fill it. We can do that every day, several times per day. We don’t need to put it off for a weekend, a month or an annual observance for that matter. Wouldn't it be great if we lived our lives outwardly to help others most of the time?

Here’s another way of serving our common good:

“Don’t just teach your children to read … teach them to question what they read. Teach them to question everything.”

                                                                                    ~George Carlin

If we follow Carlin’s advice our children would be able to answer their own questions, help others live better lives and avoid the many pitfalls we adults thought we would avoid when we had our adult chances!  Odd how that didn't work out!  Remember when we…

We can think of opportunities to serve the needs of others at a time like this. We have the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the mass slaughter of young kids at Newtown, Connecticut, the tornadoes in Oklahoma and the Boston Marathon bombings. At such times we see the need and the will to serve the larger good.

Strange how this does not imbue all Americans, however. Senator Inhofe of Oklahoma voted against Hurricane Sandy aid to the New Jersey coastal sufferers.  His fellow Oklahoma congressmen Markwayne Mullin and Jim Bridenstine both voted ‘no’ on disaster relief for Hurricane Sandy communities. With the fresh memory of Oklahoma’s tornadoes just six months following Hurricane Sandy, we can wonder if they will veto aid to their own constituents. 

Senator Inhofe, when reminded the other day of his no vote for Sandy relief, claims the relief was weighted down with non-related dollars for other projects. No, Senator; it was freighted with appropriations to fix some problems left over from earlier problems that senate nitpicking managed to lose sight of.

I trust people in need will get federal relief in spite of the narrow minded likes of Bridenstine, Mullin and Inhofe. At least we can hope so!

Meanwhile, it is our task to live our own lives as though others depend on it. They do!

Reflect on our blessings this Memorial Day. Reflect on the needs of others as well. And make a commitment to do more during the next 365 days until the next Memorial Day.

May 27, 2013