Memorial Day

I thought that for Memorial Day I would do a little bit of reflecting. Seems like a nice and lazy thing to do while one is stuffed full of BBQ.
I remember seeing a family genealogy that my Grandmother's sister had spent years working on. This thing had biographies and everything in it and must have taken her years to complete (this was way before the Internet) and it went all the way back before the Revolutionary War. The fact that stuck out strongest in my mind was that we had anscestors who had fought in every war/ armed from the Revolution onwards. I also knew at that point that my Grandfathers on both sides served in WWII and that my several of my uncles served in Korea and Viet Nam. In addition I have cousins now serving and one had been to Iraq back in the early 90's(yes, it is a huge family. . .Irish Catholic. We breed like rabbits. That is probably why I'm gay, God said enough of this family already! All natural birth control). That means from the Revolution until now some member of my family has served in this country's armed forces from the Revolution until the current day.

I don't bring this fact up to make any pretence of being a blue blood or better than anyone. Heck, my father's grandparents came off the boat from Poland after the WWI so we are by no means blue bloods (quite the opposite actually. Can we say one step up from trailer trash?). I mention this because I have been thinking about what exactly they have fought for and why we should remember those who have fought for this country. Here is why I thank and remember them this Memorial Day. . .

1)I can worship God in a church, temple, mosque, meadow under the full moon, or not at all without fear of retribution.

2)I can question my Government and it's leaders without fear of reprisal.

3)I have the right and the responsibility to vote for those who will lead my government and not just be handed a puppet govt by a military leader.

4)I have the right and the responsibility to speak up and to protest when I feel my elected govt is not being true to the Constitution/ its own promises/ the premise of freedom for all and that I can do this knowing I won't be hauled off to jail in the middle of the night, shot, stoned, or sent to a work camp.

5)The fact that it states, and I believe, that all men are created equal right in the Constitution of the United States of America. We may not be there yet, but we'll keep trying.

There is so much more that I can't even begin to list, but that is a start. It is up to the rest of us to make sure to question, to act, and to speak out so that we can assure that all the sacrifices that have been made for us in the past and in the present aren't wasted.

I will now step down off my soap box and return to my usual vapid posts.