Memory is a tricky thing. There are some things, however, that we should never forget. One of these is the sacrifices that others have made on our behalf.
It was a spring morning in 1866, just after the American Civil War that had devastated the South. A group of Southerners did something quite extraordinary. They marched down the streets of what was left of their town after the horrific Civil War to a cemetery. There they decorated the graves of the soldiers with flowers. ALL the soldiers — Union soldiers AS WELL AS Confederate soldiers.
The mothers and daughters and widows had already buried their dead. NOW THEY BURIED THEIR HATRED. The time for healing had come. It was THE FIRST MEMORIAL DAY.
Have you ever wondered why Memorial Day is marked in May? Its date doesn’t recall some historic battle. Or the start of some war. Or the signing of an armistice. Why, then, May?
For a very practical reason. Because it is a time WHEN FLOWERS BLOOM, flowers with which to decorate graves and to help us grow beyond the countless sins of war. It is a time to find new life and to bloom like flowers always do.
Thanks to King Duncan for inspiring these words.
In many ways our divided nation is fighting a raging Civil War right now. In our history we have never been as torn apart as we are right now – over abortion, the pandemic vaccines, mask-wearing, immigration, gun control, school textbooks, fraudulent elections, voter rights, climate change, and two political parties that are constantly at war with each other.
What we are all witnessing is much more than differences of opinion. We are seeing sheer HATRED of one another – in families, in friendships, in communities and in our country as a whole.
This is an email I received very early last Saturday morning: “I was so angry when I found out my grandfather voted for _________ that I flushed his ashes down the toilet!!” Funny?? Do I hear you laughing??
Where and when will all of this end? As usually happens, history repeats itself –
It was a spring morning in 2066, just after the American Civil Wars ended that had devastated all 50 states. A group of Southerners did something quite extraordinary early that morning. They marched down the streets of what was left of their town and what was left of America to a cemetery.
There they knelt and decorated the graves of ALL WHO HAD FALLEN AND DIED, those on the Left, those on the Right and those in the Middle. On that Memorial Day they placed flowers on the graves of ALL of the Democrats AND ALL of the Republicans who had lost their lives and maybe their souls. THEY BURIED THEIR HATRED THAT MEMORIAL DAY!
This is how ALL WARS END, EVEN CIVIL WARS. Memorial Day, 2022 would be a great day for all of us to wake up and realize how today’s Civil Wars and how all of our conflicts will someday end.
While YOU still have precious time left, rather than plant a flower at a cemetery, go and GIVE a flower to someone today (even if it is a digital online flower) whose political views YOU cannot stand and whose views drive YOU crazy. It is more than time to bury YOUR hatred.
FREEDOM WAS GIVEN TO HUMANITY BY GOD. GOVERNMENTS NEVER GIVE YOU FREEDOM. THEY JUST HAND OUT SLAVERY WITH SLOGANS!
