Why Memorial Day?

ROCKWALL, TX (May 24, 2014) Let’s face it, we have plenty of holidays in America, and the workforce is usually very eager to see each of them roll around. It means time from the job, a long weekend and play and family time. And that’s all good, but the holiday we call Memorial Day probably doesn’t rank as one of the top picks on the list of favorite holidays for most, aside from being just another day to relax from the everyday work week and the official start of the summer season.

I’ve noticed that some of the younger generation are losing sight of the meaning of Memorial Day and do not see it as the very special day that it represents in the historical fabric of our nation. Of the young people I have surveyed, about half say Memorial Day is the day we remember our veterans. I tell them that’s close, but that it is actually the day we honor our fallen veterans. Because of this, Memorial Day should be viewed as one of the most important of our holidays.

More and more important each day is the task of parents and grandparents to relate the importance of our history to our children. Sadly, this is not necessarily the normal teaching pattern any longer in our public school systems as it has been in the past. Instead of teaching historical facts, revisionists attempt to sweep the dynamics of our nation’s history aside. This is unfortunate and unfair to our youth. Our national history is too rich and meaningful to let it slip away.

The second century Church Father, Tertullian, is quoted as saying, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” This has certainly been true through the ages of Christianity. But in like manner, the blood of our nation’s heroes on the battlefields of the world has been the seed of American freedom and outreach to the world in the name of freedom.

Memorial Day remembers these fallen men and women and the ultimate sacrifice they paid to secure the freedoms we have enjoyed for so long. Men and women have sacrificed the prime of their lives for you and me and our families. We should be eternally grateful for them and never let their memories be taken lightly or overlooked.

So, let’s gather as families to celebrate this particularly special day, enjoy the freedom we have to do this, and encourage our young to understand how blessed we are because of these that have gone before us.

“Freedom Isn’t Free”

Story and photo submitted by Blue Ribbon News special contributor John Adams of Rockwall. John is in telecom sales and also serves as an Associate Pastor at Poetry Baptist Church. He is active in the Rockwall Breakfast Rotary. Visit his guest columns at BlueRibbonNews.com and his blog at written4u.com.

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