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Monday, May 26th, 2008
Some Thoughts on Memorial Day
I live in North Carolina where, in many counties, Memorial Day is still not observed in the public schools. For many years that was a puzzle to me. NC is a conservative state, very often elects the "war" or "tough ass" candidate, contains quite a number of people who will threaten to do you bodily harm if you suggest conservative American policies (read "America, love it or leave it") are wrong, love their guns... yet in many places we don't observe Memorial Day, honoring those incredible men and women who have lost their lives in service to our country. We proudly plaster "Support Our Troops," American flags and yellow ribbons all over our cars but we don't really follow up on those exclamations with action. I didn't understand, but then...
Aha! Memorial Day was begun after the Civil War to honor Union soldiers who had fallen. After World War I it became a national holiday to honor all fallen US soldiers. Don't know about other southern states, but North Carolina has been a little slow to accept the change. We're all about car races and ball games on Memorial Day weekend but not actually observing the purpose of the holiday. I'd say it's about time that all NC school children at least LEARNED about and observed the holiday like the rest of the country.
My heart goes out this day to all those wounded and fallen soldiers and their families. Thank you for your unfathomable sacrifice.
Some Thoughts on Memorial Day
I live in North Carolina where, in many counties, Memorial Day is still not observed in the public schools. For many years that was a puzzle to me. NC is a conservative state, very often elects the "war" or "tough ass" candidate, contains quite a number of people who will threaten to do you bodily harm if you suggest conservative American policies (read "America, love it or leave it") are wrong, love their guns... yet in many places we don't observe Memorial Day, honoring those incredible men and women who have lost their lives in service to our country. We proudly plaster "Support Our Troops," American flags and yellow ribbons all over our cars but we don't really follow up on those exclamations with action. I didn't understand, but then...
Aha! Memorial Day was begun after the Civil War to honor Union soldiers who had fallen. After World War I it became a national holiday to honor all fallen US soldiers. Don't know about other southern states, but North Carolina has been a little slow to accept the change. We're all about car races and ball games on Memorial Day weekend but not actually observing the purpose of the holiday. I'd say it's about time that all NC school children at least LEARNED about and observed the holiday like the rest of the country.
My heart goes out this day to all those wounded and fallen soldiers and their families. Thank you for your unfathomable sacrifice.
Wikipedia (for whatever it's worth) says Memorial Day is a federal holiday. It also says this about its history, which I think is interesting:
According to Professor David Blight of the Yale University History Department, the first memorial day was observed in 1865 by liberated slaves at the historic race track in Charleston. The site was a former Confederate prison camp as well as a mass grave for Union soldiers who had died while captive. The freed slaves reinterred the dead Union soldiers from the mass grave to individual graves, fenced in the graveyard & built an entry arch declaring it a Union graveyard; a very daring thing to do in the South shortly after North's victory. On May 30 1868 the freed slaves returned to the graveyard with flowers they'd picked from the countryside & decorated the individual gravesites, thereby creating the 1st Decoration Day. A parade with thousands of freed blacks and Union soldiers was followed by patriotic singing and a picnic.
According to what I read and have heard, it was not a national holiday until after WWI. And, yes, I'm sure the history kept it from becoming recognized then and for many years after. Now I think it may be because it has never really been part of the history of so many locals. The state government recognizes it and banks have for many years, but apparently there is no state mandate for schools to recognize the holiday. Folks around here don't like government telling them what to do. Here in the mountains, people continue to vehemently vote against any kind of zoning regulations or laws that would actually protect their interests because they think it will infringe on their rights. Another story, I know, but it's a mindset.