Newspaper Page Text
OpEd
I Memorial Day:
A day to remember
Monday we celebrated one
of our most meaningful holidays
— Memorial Day. For many, it
meant the kickoff of the summer
season — the companion to
Labor Day which, before the
school calendars changed, signi¬
fied the end of summer and the
transition to fall. For others, it
was a day to take advantage of
the sales being offered by stores
and car dealerships. But for
most of us, it was also a day of
gatherings with family and
friends, but more importantly, a
day of remembrance and reflec
tion.
Communities across the
nation highlighted the day with
marching bands parading down
the streets and a special ceremo
ny to honor those who made the
supreme sacrifice on behalf of
the nation.
Most of our holidays, both
secular and religious, have been
commercialized to the point that
their original meanings have
diminished considerably. Many
have been moved to Mondays,
to provide long weekends,
emphasizing the "play” aspects
at the expense of the holiday’s
original significance.
Hardly anyone remembers
what led to the designation of
Labor Day. Washington’s and
Lincoln’s Birthdays have long
given way to the more innocu
ous President’s Day, almost
entirely commercial in orienta
tion. Except for ads announcing
special sales, most people
wouldn’t even know when
Columbus Day comes and goes,
And only the reminder of occa
sional red-poppy-sellers (origi
nally associated with Memorial
Day) prevents Veterans Day
from getting lost in passing.
Even many of the religious holi
days today offer more of a com
mercial aspect than spiritual.
But somehow, despite more
cavalier attitudes towards holi
days, two of our most important
seem to retain much of the sig
nificance intended — the Fourth
of July, which celebrates our
Nation’s founding and
Memorial Day — which,
although it has been “Monday
ized,” commemorates something
so significant that it still retains
its importance to many. It deals
with the sacrifices that were
required to make this nation
great - a remiiuler that may be
tnore important today than ever
before in our history'. So even
though the day has just passed, I
thought it would be worth
spending a few minutes on the
history and meaning of the occa
sion.
The exact origin of
Memorial Day is somewhat in
dispute, although clearly its gen
esis came out of the Civil War.
Numerous ceremonies were
held in both Southern and
Northern communities to honor
those who had given their lives,
In many cases, this took the
form of placing flowers and
flags on the graves - thus the
name originally given to the hoi
iday: “Decoration Day.” In
1868, General Logan, com
manding the Grand Army of the
Republic, a veteran’s organiza
tion, was inspired by the way the
South honored its war dead,
Consequently, he designated
May 30 as a day to honor the
fallen and called for the nation
to honor the observance each
year, although he lacked any
authority to designate it as a hol¬
iday. That year flowers were
placed on the graves of Union
and Confederate soldiers in
Arlington National Cemetery.
More than 5,(XX) people attend¬
ed the ceremonies. Gen. Ulysses
S. Grant (subsequently the
nation’s 18th president) partici¬
pated and
Gen. James Garfield (later
the nation’s 20th President)
addressed the crowd.
By 1890, all of the Northern
states had adopted May 30 as a
day of remembrance, but most
of the Southern states had their
own day for that purpose. It
Mel -v**”
Copen W I
wasn't until after World War 1
that the scope was broadened to
honor the dead from all of our
wars. Soon after, the majority of
the rest of the states adopted the
May 30th holiday, although
some Southern states continue
with a special day to honor the
Confederate dead (April 26 is
Georgia’s Confederate Mem
orial Day),
Although the designation
“Memorial Day” had been used
earlier in place of “Decoration
Day,” its use became common
after World War 11, and in 1967
Congress officially changed the
name. Subsequently, the
National Holiday Act. passed in
1968 and effective in 1971,
changed the date from May 30
to the last Monday in May.
Although there are many
communities which observed a
day of remembrance shortly
after the Civil War ended, in
1966 President Johnson desig
nated Waterloo, N.Y. as
Memorial Day’s official birth
place. In 1866, Henry Welles, a
Waterloo pharmacist, suggested
dedicating a day to hold a cere
mony and place flowers on the
graves of all the Civil War dead
who were buried in the local
cemetery. The event took place
on May 5 and the town called it
“Decoration Day.” Its interesting
to note that it was a solemn day,
not a day of festivities, and that
unlike today, all shops in
Waterloo were closed.
War is a horrible thing. It’s
an atrocious way that man has
devised to settle disputes, satisfy
greedy ambitions, and right sup
posed wrongs. But some
“wrongs” are real and in our
world it appears that war is
sometimes unavoidable in
defense of fundamental rights.
|Few people would dispute
today, although they did back
then, the need to stop an Adolph
Hitler as he wrecked havoc in
Europe.] At one time, the issues
seemed clearer, the combatants
more readily identifiable
(although civilians, in huge
numbers, were always “atten
dant” casualties) and the end
more predictable,
Today, all those factors have
become fuzzy. But the thing that
remains clear is that it takes sac
rifice to maintain what we have.
The world is not always fair.
Benefits are not distributed
equally. But unless people are
willing to give some things up,
they risk losing everything.
Clearly, Memorial Day is a trib
ute to those who willingly (and
reluctantly) sacrificed every
thing for what they and their
leaders saw as the “greater
good.”
We need to be reminded of
that. Simultaneously with the
fading of the true meanings of
many our holidays, prosperity
and hedonism are weakening
our resolve to make whatever
degree of sacrifice is needed to
address the new and powerful
forces (natural and manmade)
that are challenging our way of
life, and even our existence,
every day.
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or incorrectly identified letters will be withheld.
Mail letters to the Forsyth County News, P.O. Box 210,
Cumming, GA 30028, hand deliver to 302 Veterans Memorial
Blvd., fax to (770) 889-6017 or email to editor@forsythnews.com.
Our wars are part of our his¬
tory - a history that should not
be forgotten, although one might
hope they would cease to be a
part of our future. From the time
we first started to come together
as a nation we have not been
able to go 40 years without a
major war.
The list that follows excludes
many smaller actions at home
(e.g. the Indian Wars) and
around the world (e.g. Panama,
Somalia) and the more general¬
ized current Wars on
’Terrorism” and “Drugs,” which
seem to have no particular time
frame or boundaries: the
American Revolution (1775-83),
the War of 1812 (1812-15) the
Mexican War (1846-48), the
Civil War (1861-65), the
Spanish-American War (1898),
World War I (1914-18), World
War II (1941-45), Korea (1950-
53), Vietnam (1965-75), the
Persian Gulf War (1990-91),
Afghanistan and Iraq (2001-??).
During these conflicts, more
than 42 million Americans put
on uniforms and placed them¬
selves in harms way. Six hun¬
dred and sixty thousand
(660,000) died on the battle¬
fields and another 540,(XX) died
during the conflicts but outside
of the immediate theaters of war.
These are the people we honor -
who gave their lives for the
nation. Another 1.5 million were
wounded, and although they
didn’t make the “supreme” sac¬
rifice, many of them suffered
dearly for the rest of their lives ‘
Interestingly, if we look strictly
at battlefield numbers, the ratio
of wounded to killed in the early
history of our wars was about 2
to 1. Today it is above 3 to 1,
probably signifying both better
medical advances and the fact
that troops are returning home
with more grievous conditions
than in the past. We need to think
about and honor them too!
Winston Churchill, in talking
about the heroic effort made by
the RAF during the Battle of
Britain, said: “Never...was so
much owed by so many to so
few.”
The same may be said of the
gallant men and women who,
over the centuries, have
answered the call to duty and
served our nation so well.
Memorial Day is a day of
remembrance for their deeds,
their sacrifices and their impact
— both for the benefit of the
nation and the cost to their loved
ones.
But it should be more than
that. Memorial Day should
serve as an inspiration for the
future - not to go t to war
(although that may be neces¬
sary) or to put one’s life on the
line, but at the very least, to
encourage all of us to make
some of the small sacrifices that
will help strengthen this nation,
make it an even better place to
live, and help others in the world
to achieve peace and economic
freedom.
Dr. Melvyn Copen lives in
both Georgia and Arizona. Fie is
an educator and businessman
who has worked and lived in
many foreign countries and pro¬
vides consulting services
throughout the world. His col¬
umn appears every other
Wednesday. Please share your
comments with him via email at
melcopen@hotimiil.com.
Warner for vice
WASHINGTON, D.C. —
Former Virginia Gov. Mark
Warner, a strong favorite to
be elected to the Senate this
year, has told associates that
he is being considered as
Barack Obama’s vice presi¬
dential running mate. He did
not indicate whether he
would be receptive to such
an offer.
Removing Warner from
the campaign for the seat
now held by retiring
Republican Sen. John Warner
(no relation) would turn a
sure Democratic takeover to
a question mark. Mark
Warner is heavily favored
against the Republican nomi¬
nee, former Gov. Jim
Gilmore, but no substitute
Democratic candidate is at
hand.
Although no Democratic
presidential nominee has car¬
ried Virginia since Lyndon B.
Johnson in 1964, Democrats
see the state as being in play
for the 2008 election and
would like to see a Virginian
on the national ticket. Both
Gov. Tim Kaine and
freshman Sen. Jim Webb
have been mentioned, but
neither possesses Warner’s
prestige.
McCain’s lobbyist
The embarrassing dis¬
missal from Sen. John
McCain’s campaign of for¬
mer Rep. Tom Loeffler as a
top fundraiser because he is a
lobbyist is blamed by politi¬
cal insiders on one of the
many mistakes made when
the McCain organization was
put together.
Loeffler has been one of
Washington’s powerhouse
lobbyists for many years, but
he never has been renowned
for fundraising skills. His
most visible lobbying client
has been the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia.
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS — Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Robert SI
Novak
Loeffler was a congress¬
man from Texas in the 1980s
and a major figure in the
House as chief deputy
Republican whip.
Liddy in trouble
Sen. Elizabeth Dole of
North Carolina, who previ¬
ously was thought to be fair¬
ly safe for re-election this
year, has become one of the
top Democratic targets
among incumbent Repub¬
lican senators. Only John
Sununu in New Hampshire
and Norm Coleman in
Minnesota are considered
more vulnerable.
Two separate independent
polls show Dole leading the
Democratic nominee, State
Sen. Kay Hagan, by only five
and four points, respectively.
Sen. Barack Obama at the
top of the Democratic ticket
is expected to bring out a big
African-American vote for
Hagan.
Aware that she is in a dif¬
ficult race, Dole has been
traveling the state and spend¬
ing no time in Washington
when floor votes are not
scheduled in the Senate.
Specter’s opponent?
Pennsylvania’s popular
Democratic Gov. Edward
Rendell is reported by party
sources to be considering a
race for the Senate in 2010
even if his friend and fellow
Philadelphian-, Republican
Sen. Arlen Specter, seeks re
election.
Specter has indicated that
he wants a sixth term in the
Senate, but that may depend
PAGE 7A
on his health. He is suffering
from a recurrence of cancer.
Republican insiders
believe that Specter might
decide to run as an independ¬
ent if conservatives launch
another serious Republican
primary campaign against
him, as they did in 2004. A
three-way election would all
but guarantee the election of
a Democrat.
Why Fossella stays
Hard-pressed House
Republican campaign man¬
agers breathed a sigh of
relief when disgraced Rep.
Vito Fossella, the only
Republican House member
from New York City, did not
resign from Congress this
month, as it was widely
reported that he would.
A Fossella resignation
before July 1 would have
enabled Democratic Gov.
David Paterson to call a spe¬
cial election to fill the seat.
Although the Staten Island
district long has been held by
Republicans, even more dis¬
tinctly Republican districts
in Illinois, Louisiana and
Mississippi have been lost
this year in special elections.
House Republican leaders
did not want to conduct
another special election, par¬
ticularly in the wake of the
Fossella scandal.
When the six-term con¬
gressman recently was
arrested for drunken driving
in the Washington area, it
was revealed he was main¬
taining separate households
in New York and
Washington. He satisfied
what party leaders wanted by
announcing he would not
seek re-election but not
resign for now.
Robert D. Novak is a
nationally syndicated colum¬
nist and television commen¬
tator.