This powerful piece written on Memorial Day by Paul Field illuminates deeper truths, so vital to see and embody. May we all work together, doing whatever our part may be, in the great struggle towards a more just, peaceful, and caring nation and world. May we do the hard work of truly honoring ― and not just remembering ― their sacrifice. 🙏 Molly
It is not enough to remember our fallen service members. Not by a long shot. We owe them the honor of becoming the country they gave their lives to preserve.
From that first citizen-soldier, breathing out his last breath in the mud at Lexington, on down through history to our Brothers and Sisters, bleeding into the dirt in far off places with names we might never know, they all believed in an America worthy of their ultimate sacrifice.
In their America, craven politicians did not hide behind petty partisan bickering. Their America was a place where our most sacred institutions, such as the right to vote, were fought for and not against. In their America, governance was a service to all, approached with solemn dignity and not a cacophony of endless theater from the most ignorant amongst us. In their America, "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness...," was a promise to everyone; not just words written by flawed men, some centuries ago.
For those who gave their lives, America was never perfect. It represented a work in progress. A long, hard struggle towards a more perfect Union. They believed this struggle was beset by setbacks, yet always undeterred from its ultimate goal. They gave their lives in service to that goal.
We remember our fallen Brothers and Sisters in the sound of a song, the taste of a specific food, a certain smell, or the way the light of the sun hits a particular hillside at a given hour. We remember them through the burn of liquor, hitting the back of our throats; from an old photograph; in violent, sweat filled dreams at night, or in countless other times and ways for no apparent reason at all.
Yet, all of these memories are not enough. The debt is unpaid.
Honor those who gave their all by doing the hard work necessary in order to become the America they sacrificed their lives to achieve.
Honor the spirit of their sacrifice by rising above the flaws of everything that led up to it, or came after. Work to keep those flaws from enduring as a theme.
Our memories will always come, unbidden. Honor will require all of our efforts, with no promise of any reward.
Do not just remember the fallen.
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