What do you do on Memorial Day?

If you’re like most Americans, you spend the day relaxing with family and friends, barbequeing in the backyard and welcoming the coming of summer. But is that what Memorial Day is all about?

To tell the truth, I’d never really thought much about it before, but a recent trip to Washington, D.C., has left me thinking about the more solemn aspects of the holiday. It’s difficult not to focus on the sacrifices our brave troops – indeed brave troops everywhere – have been called upon to make over the years when you visit the powerful Vietnam Memorial, the National World War II Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery and so many other monuments to the fallen. Whether or not you support a particular war – or even war in general – you have to pause in awe at the loss of young and vibrant lives that has occurred and continues to occur in the name of peace and democracy.

To remind those of us who have forgotten what Memorial Day is all about, the “National Moment of Remembrance” resolution, passed in December 2000, asks that at 3 pm local time on Memorial Day, all Americans “voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to ‘Taps’.”

And while honoring our fallen soldiers is an excellent beginning, what about working to ensure peace, toward creating a world where young men and women will no longer be called upon to sacrifice life and limb to protect their countries?

How will you mark the Moment of Remembrance?

For more information about the history – and the possible future – of Memorial Day, visit usmemorialday.org.

May 31st, 2010 | Category: Holidays