Today we remember the courage. We honor the sacrifice. We carry the legacy.
Our freedom in the United States has come at a great price to many men and women. Those who have died in the line of service and those who have received injuries that they carried the rest of their lives. The parades are important to honor the sacrifice. The memorial services remind us that war should always be the last option. If you view this holiday just as the start of summer, take a minute to learn more about this holiday.
As a nation currently at war with Iran, Venezuela and who know’s which country might be next. . . it’s really a holiday in the United States that is full of emotion, empathy and a need for reflection.
The holiday started in the United States as Decoration Day to honor Union soldiers who had given the ultimate sacrifice in the Civil War on May 30, 1868. In 1873 New York state was the first one to make the holiday a state observance. After the two great World Wars the holiday was for all soldiers who lost their lives in any American armed conflict. Finally in 1971 Memorial Day became a Federal Holiday.
What makes this such a heavy day? We now have post-war lenses and understand that sometimes the objectives may not fit under the just war heading. For those of us that have never served in the armed forces we may have no idea about a JUST WAR. We may not even understand that there are internationally recognized rules to warfare. We may not even understand why it’s really important to build a coalition of allies before declaring war. We may not even understand that certain threats may go against just war doctrine. This is where a name change like Department of War adds even more gravity to a day like Memorial Day.
By framing war in a corrective lens, Augustine strips it of its connotations of personal glory, lust, ego, and malevolence. As a result, he makes war harder for pacifists to condemn. Unlike the mythical figures in Homer’s Iliad, Augustine’s ideal soldiers are not fighting for their own gain but for the moral restoration of the world.—https://web.sas.upenn.edu/discentes/2024/10/13/practical-just-war-st-augustine-his-framing-of-just-war-theory/
The reframing of the Department of Defense into the Department of War clearly states the priorities of the White House. Going to war without having Congress vote to authorize the use of force is one more way where we skip the checks and balances to ensure that all other options were exhausted.
Philosopher Michael Walzer notes that international aggression is not merely a crime between two private parties but “a crime against society as a whole.”11 As a result, the qualification of just cause is expanded to include not only self defense, but the punishment of an aggressor by any state — not merely the one directly affected — so long as war is declared with the right intention. Here, just cause becomes an expansive qualifier aimed at correcting international wrongs and restoring geopolitical stability. If a nation adheres to this qualification — holding the right intention in declaring war, having exhausted all other political options before war is declared, and having sufficiently calculated the proportion of the war’s potential benefit to destruction — then that nation is deemed just within jus ad bellum. Yet, for a war to be fully just, it must also satisfy jus in bello, the proper conditions in which war is waged.—https://web.sas.upenn.edu/discentes/2024/10/13/practical-just-war-st-augustine-his-framing-of-just-war-theory/
Gone but never forgotten- This is why we observe Memorial Day.
Below are various organizations that provide support for veterans. If you’ve spent time with any of our Veteran’s you understand that they carry their service with them for the rest of their lives.
- https://facesandvoicesofrecovery.org/great-ways-to-give-back-on-memorial-day/
- http://www.milserve.org
- https://www.petsforvets.com/
- https://www.hfotusa.org/
- https://nationsfinest.org/every-day-can-feel-like-memorial-day-for-families-of-veterans/
- https://kirstieennisfoundation.com/
- https://weareprojecthero.org/
- https://www.taps.org/
- https://www.garysinisefoundation.org/programs/honoring-families-of-fallen-heroes
- https://newsroom.woundedwarriorproject.org/6-Ways-to-Honor-the-Fallen-This-Memorial-Day
For immediate help: Call the National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988