Moment of Remembrance
There are many occasions to celebrate our love of country, our freedom, our veterans, and to share in the basking of the liberties that we—as a nation—have earned through sacrifice and devotion. But there is only one day when we must set aside, if only for a moment, the mechanisms of celebration and truly remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice and left it all on the battlefield. That day is Memorial Day.
In 1996, a humanitarian organization based in Washington, D.C., known as ‘No Greater Love,’ conducted a survey on children and asked them why they think Memorial Day is a holiday. It was agonizing to hear that their remarks were all associated with barbecues, long weekend parties, and celebrations, while they hadn’t the vaguest notion about the sacrifices of the servicemen and women in whose honor, we celebrate Memorial Day.
A year later, the organization came up with the idea of ‘National Moment of Remembrance’ to remind us all and especially, let the future generations know about the real meaning of this Holiday. The idea clicked with President Clinton and Congress and since 1997, it became a standard American tradition.
National Moment of Remembrance requires everybody to keep silent for a minute, exactly at 3:00 pm (local time) when ‘Taps’ is played for all to reflect on the glory of those who have shed blood for us. I would ask that you honor that tradition this Memorial Day and explain to your children why this is so important… to help us understand, I leave you with these words from President Ronald Reagan:
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, and protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like to live in the United States where men were free.
May God bless America, and watch over us in this in this difficult and stressful time.
Thank you all for what you do, have a safe weekend!
Cheers!
JC