I never really knew the meaning of Memorial Day. Growing up, it was another excuse to have time off from school, another excuse to get away from what little work I chose to do. It never dawned on me to investigate and understand what the day meant.
My logic told me it was a holiday. I’ve always understood that the word holiday is short for ‘holy day’. The word ‘holy’ is commonly associated with what is sacred, something to be venerated, something that carries the essence of the divine. With this logic, I asked myself: what makes this day ‘holy’?
Memorial Day is celebrated as a “United States federal holiday”. That in itself is an insult to my logic. A government’s domain is the political authority, but a government assigning sacred days is a blatant attack on an individual’s spiritual values. How can a government choose for an individual which day is holy, which day is sacred? I see nothing divine about a federal government, especially one with origins that stem from calculated bloodshed and disregard for human life and traditional values. These ‘federal holidays’ skew our understanding of that which is divine. By corrupting a person’s understanding of what is holy, no realm of the individual’s psyche becomes inaccessible. For what is holy is meant to be sacred and unsoiled, but if a government is able to alter one’s definition of what is holy, then that government has the power to manipulate a person any way it chooses because the notions of what is sacred, of what is holy, of what is divine dictate the values of an individual. If you change one’s understanding of what is divine, you can change their values. I see nothing honest in a system which wants to create values for an individual with a purpose to manipulate them.
My logic also told me that Memorial Day stood for a day in which something or someone is commemorated, remembered. So then I asked myself: who or what am I supposed to remember and why?
My logic told me it was a holiday. I’ve always understood that the word holiday is short for ‘holy day’. The word ‘holy’ is commonly associated with what is sacred, something to be venerated, something that carries the essence of the divine. With this logic, I asked myself: what makes this day ‘holy’?
Memorial Day is celebrated as a “United States federal holiday”. That in itself is an insult to my logic. A government’s domain is the political authority, but a government assigning sacred days is a blatant attack on an individual’s spiritual values. How can a government choose for an individual which day is holy, which day is sacred? I see nothing divine about a federal government, especially one with origins that stem from calculated bloodshed and disregard for human life and traditional values. These ‘federal holidays’ skew our understanding of that which is divine. By corrupting a person’s understanding of what is holy, no realm of the individual’s psyche becomes inaccessible. For what is holy is meant to be sacred and unsoiled, but if a government is able to alter one’s definition of what is holy, then that government has the power to manipulate a person any way it chooses because the notions of what is sacred, of what is holy, of what is divine dictate the values of an individual. If you change one’s understanding of what is divine, you can change their values. I see nothing honest in a system which wants to create values for an individual with a purpose to manipulate them.
My logic also told me that Memorial Day stood for a day in which something or someone is commemorated, remembered. So then I asked myself: who or what am I supposed to remember and why?
Memorial Day stands as a day to remember Americans who died in war, to remember those who sacrificed their lives for us living today. Yes, those soldiers were brothers, fathers, husbands, uncles, etc. but they did not die for you. They died to further the agenda of America. They were used by a government. Americans are quick to pay respect to fallen soldiers who fought to guarantee their freedoms, yet in this so called land of freedom and equality and equal opportunity there is a vast majority of people who are oppressed by the very government they take so much pride in associating themselves with. They are “proud to be American”. They fail to realize that just because you are in the country, that reason alone does not make you American. There are still those who, because of the structure of the system, are unemployed, are hungry, are homeless, have been systematically oppressed and are so desperate that the most viable options just to get by are drugs and crime, because the government only created a false reality of freedom and liberty. There are still people who do not enjoy the benefits of America. No, you’ve got to enjoy the fruits of Americanism to be an American. People celebrate the idea of liberty but fail to see the invisible chains of a shackled freedom. Memorial Day becomes another opportunity to distract people further from the more important aspects of life.
We must remember that American history is short compared to the history of the world. Many people have died for America, yes, but what about the people who sacrificed for us before America was established? Through a system of manipulation and distraction, America has successfully discouraged one from honoring more important individuals directly involved with their existence. We should be remembering the most significant people of our past: our ancestors. They are the direct reason for our existence. It is through their will to survive that we are here today. Their blood runs through our veins. Are they not worth at least a day of remembrance? We must respect, honor, and nurture our true roots rather than tend to a tree which bears no fruit for us.
So, what is Memorial Day? Who do we remember? Why is it important that we remember them? These are questions that any thinking person living in America should ask themselves every day, not just the designated day created by the government for their own agenda.
