If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
An Air Force veteran could only say to me today, finding it almost impossible: "You'd better be sure who you're voting for." His eyes were filled with tears.
Memorial Day in the United States is meant to be a day of reflection and somberness. It is meant to be a day where we think about what we have and what was given to have it.
It's said that everything looks like a nail if you're holding a hammer; the United States has long had many more "hammers" than it needs. I consider myself a patriot, but blind patriotism is really meaningless. We can both honor those who have sacrificed and do much better.
Ian Gelig had been deployed once before. He'd already been awarded a Combat Action Badge and the Army Commendation Medal for his service in Iraq. The day he died, he was five days away from the end of his service commitment.
or all these veterans have given, many of them are coming home wounded in body or spirit to a society that, while it unanimously honors their service, doesn't really know how to reward and repatriate them.
This Memorial Day let's makes some time to think about not only those who have given their lives for their country and not returned -- what about those returning soldiers who have given their inner lives and who are now paying an enormous price?
Global God, don't bless us. Lord, have mercy on us. Have mercy on our arrogance. Have mercy on our mercilessness. Have mercy on our patriotism.
Photo courtesy of One World Futbol Project. To say that I am grateful to each and every known and unknown soldier of today and yesterday who fought...
When I discovered how much good food that could help gets dumped in landfills instead, I was angry. That's how Donate Don't Dump got started. So to have a Senate bill that could potentially help active military families is awesome except for one thing: it's only a bill.
Today we honor the veterans who have served our country. We reflect and pray for them, as well as celebrate their lives as they have given so much. We also share thoughts with those who are currently serving and those who will serve.
It's Memorial Day, honoring those who died in service to our country, and for most of us, it's an extra day off. An extra day off is a such a luxury, a delight, a bonus. So why doesn't an extra meal give us the same thrill?
She rakes dead grass off the grave with the three names and one inscription: Forever in Our Hearts. The woman in work gloves and white sun hat picks up the dead grass and stuffs her plastic bag full for another trip to the ravine down the hill. She'll be back this week with her John Deere riding mower to navigate through the buttercupped rows at Annapolis' African-American burial ground.
Every year since 1868, Americans celebrate Memorial Day by remembering and honoring the courageous men and women who have given their lives on the battlefield in defense of our country.
Here are 20 post-50 celebrities -- that are, thankfully, still alive and well -- who took the pledge to serve America so that every person could savor their freedom while enjoying 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.'
Over the course of four years in the Marine Corps, two combat tours, nearly forty comrades killed in action, and eight dead by their own hand, I have heard "Amazing Grace" emotionally played on bagpipes too many times for a man who has only just turned thirty.
What happened to a time when Memorial Day was about honoring our veterans? How did we regress to Memorial Day being just a summer kickoff and socially acceptable time to begin donning light-colored clothing?
