Rest assured first off everyone, I am not against Memorial Day nor am I saying we should abolish it. I post this today because I fear that while we would not officially abolish it, in our society we might as well have. As I thought about the day some today, I thought that most of us just enjoy another day off or in my case, holiday pay.
That’s truly saddening, and not just for others. I didn’t think much about our armed forces today either. Our company had been playing patriotic songs all weekend and we played some today. However, I heard several songs that had nothing to do with patriotism and wondered why we’d play patriotic music on the weekend but not on the day.
It has been said that our society can remember what happened in the past 60 minutes, but not in the past 60 years or past 60 centuries for that matter. We are people of the NOW who live for the moment. We don’t really have any idea where we came from and without that, we won’t have any idea where we’re going.
Students today don’t really read history. I’ve even got a friend who wants to teach history and yet hates to read. I’ve told him that he’ll never become a history teacher then if he hates to read. His reply is that he sees it on the History Channel. The History Channel might be a good thing in many ways, but I’m sure they don’t want it to take the place of a book and even if they do, they’re wrong.
Christian political speaker Hugh Hewitt says in his book “In, But Not Of”, that Christians need to have at least a basic grasp of the history of the Jews, the Greeks, the Romans, and the English. Such concepts were usually required reading in school, but the education system has sadly changed. I have bought Plutarch and Tacitus and since read them to fill in the gap in my idea of history.
Today though, we were to honor an important part of history. We were to honor those who had died to defend this land. However, their sacrifice often means nothing to us today. The tragedy of 9/11 was sadly lost quickly. Why should we be surprised? We murder 4,000 a day in abortion clinics. VTech happened and for a week, it was all you would hear about, and then even that disappeared. Tragedies don’t stay with us long enough for us to realize what is important.
In some ways, it’s good to get past the past. What that refers to though is personal hardships that you can’t change and that you shouldn’t live in. The Jews were to remember their slavery in Egypt not as a past they wished to change, but a reminder of what God had redeemed them from. He is the one who says he will remember our sins no more. Unfortunately, we often think we need to remember them. Why? God doesn’t.
Many a soldier has lost his or her life though in defense of this nation. I don’t love everything that goes on here, but I am thankful I live in America. I honor those who died and need to keep them more in mind. Maybe this year, we didn’t do as much, but hopefully when Memorial Day rolls around next year, we might appreciate our fine soldiers some more.
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