Time to Revitalize Memorial Day

How many now know what his symbolizes?

What might have appeared as yet another nondescript Memorial Day has passed again; yet this one, left us with a couple of significant noteworthy ponderances.         

First was the news that after more than 20 years, Valley City, North Dakota was forced to cancel their Memorial Day parade.  The local Chapter of the VFW is steadily losing membership.  Younger vets are not filling those empty membership slots.  "Nationwide, younger veterans are not inclined to join these organizations," said Bill Prokopyk, the National Guard's public information officer.   As a result the VFW failed to draw enough participants to fill key roles in the parade, including the color guard which provides the appropriate U.S. military honors.   Added to that frustration is the ever growing number of residents who vacate the city for fishing, boating at their lake homes, camping and etc. foregoing holiday celebrations.                        

Veteran’s organizations do a great job of fighting for veterans benefits, helping troubled veterans with daily life challenges and honoring fallen service members.  This verity along with the Valley City occurrence couldn’t help but ignite a concern as to what future America will resemble if we continue to place recreational activities before our fallen soldiers.

 

Next we have a magnificent article that appeared in the Minneapolis Star Tribune on May 25, 2015.  In the Kent Youngblood and David La Vaque writing (Memorial Day Memories: A Time To Serve Not Play) they report on their interview with former Viking Head Coach Bud Grant.  This exceptional article places Memorial Day in its proper perspective by drawing contrasts between our contemporary sports scene and those that serve our country.

They emphasize that the insane sports fanaticism that has come to grip our culture was once unheard of in America.  The authors use Grant’s service in the Second World War as their lynchpin in calling for an awakening in priorities and American spirit.  Grant experienced firsthand the awful scourges of war as he witnessed the killing of his fellow Americans. Through Grant it is pointed out that only a small number of Americans now remain who remember those days and are therefore capable of placing athletic events and Memorial Day in their proper perspective.  This knowledge is crucial in contemporary times if we are to ever create, once again, the solemn place this holiday should hold in ALL American hearts.   “On this Memorial Day, a generation can reflect on an era when American sports were relegated to such a status that Major League Baseball, America’s runaway champion of sport in the 1940s, needed a nudge from the president to continue playing its games. The war was the focus, and the people in it.”

“ ‘On days like this, that’s what I think about,’ (Bud) Grant said. ‘Not football games, Super Bowls. That’s entertainment. There is a difference between heroes and stars. Those guys were heroes. In sports, we don’t do anything heroic, we just entertain. … No other generation has those kind of memories. So losing a Super Bowl is not that important.’ ” 

This brought to mind the greatest baseball game ever played.  It was on July 2, 1963 when Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves dueled with Juan Marichal for 16 innings at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.  We’ll never see that again.

In recounting this, one can hardly ignore that Spahn, like Grant, also served during the Second World War.  He too saw many of his fellow service men killed.  He served with distinction.  He saw action in the Battle of the Bulge, was wounded and awarded a purple heart and earned a battlefield commission for his heroism.  Rest assured; 16 innings of dueling with Marichal and facing Willie Mays probably paralleled a pleasant Sunday stroll in the park for Spahn. 

While Spahn’s words may be different, they echo exactly the same sentiment held by Bud Grant. “The army taught me something about challenges, and about what’s important and what isn’t.” 

Have we really reached the point where Memorial Day is now primarily “A time to Play?”  Is it really so outrageous to suggest that Major League Baseball teams suspend play on Memorial Day or that we do our camping and boating between Friday and Sunday returning home on Sunday to use that additional Monday to honor our fallen service men?  It was General George Patton who summarized it perfectly.  “Compared to war, all other forms of human endeavor shrink to insignificance.” 

If we no longer hold to that conviction and deeply cherish the significance of that reality, than it is clear that America would now best be served by eliminating the Memorial Day holiday.

Related Reference:  Why a Memorial Day

http://malatman-malatblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2015/05/why-memorial-day-congressional-medal-of.html

Unidentified Culprits Flourish

There are some common threads in in American politics that require our attention.  They need to be central to our thinking to create an awareness as to how our Democratic Republic was designed to function and our responsibility in that enterprise.  

One is the misgivings of the disenchanted voter.  These Americans firmly believe that their civic responsibility begins and ends at the ballot box.  While voting is significantly essential, it is NOT the major element of the equation.  Because they believe voting is the panacea for correcting our ills they are frustrated and angry.  Once they begin to understand that voting is not the cure-all, they withdraw from all civic responsibility believing it is useless to be engaged.  They want nothing to do with the reality that the struggle for proper governance never ends - that it requires a lifetime of due-diligence and active participation to safeguard our freedom and liberty.  They don’t understand that there is no miracle pill nor magic potion that will permanently and forever entrench liberty and freedom into the American fabric of life. 

This is best validated in the often-resurrected Charley Reese column originally printed in the Orlando Sentinel in 2001, entitled; 545 vs. 300,000,000 People.  The article strikes right at the heart of what this contingent wants to believe.  

Reese’s basic premise is; “One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.”  He then feeds the anger, frustration and hatred with; “Those 545 people and they alone (ALONE?), are responsible.  They and they alone (ALONE?), have the power….They and they alone (ALONE?) should be held accountable…We should vote all (ALL?) of them out of office and clean up their mess!” 

This simplistic view is badly flawed on many fronts. 

To begin with Reese indicts ALL 545 for his perceived grievances against the government.  This is to suggest that are ALL – each and every one of them - is the sole cause for government failures.  He therefore suggests that if even one, or a handful of them, agreed with Reese’s synopsis that our problems wouldn’t exist, or, at the very least, they wouldn’t be as severe.  This absurdity should be glaringly obvious. 

We elect people from every walk of life, every hamlet from every corner of this country.  They all have differing points of view and desired agendas – let’s skip motivations here.  The way our government is designed to function is that all these differences must be drawn together to create a consensus for focus and direction.  That’s hard work and takes time. While Reese is correct that government is lacking in proper focus and direction what he fails to realize is that it isn’t JUST the fault of the individuals representing us but rather the breakdown in the function of our government.  This can primarily be traced to a lack of dominate leadership which is necessary to give rise to populous support. 

Next, where is the irrefutable evidence that replacing ALL 545 will result in a correct or proper mandate?  If it exists, he didn’t provide it. 

He also fails to realize that to be elected today a candidate must swear allegiance to one of two political parties. He fails to recognize that the media will give little to no attention (campaign coverage, press conferences, debates etc.) to anyone not affiliated with one of those two parties.  So how do this new brand of politician get their message heard and deemed credible. And most importantly, how does anyone break through that party power structure and control without sacrificing the values that Mr. Reese knows are necessary to institute real change?    

Now we come to the most formidable component necessary to get elected: MONEY.  Where does Mr. Reese propose we find candidates that are willing to break the backs of Wall Street power and influence; demand alternative sources of energy that will cripple the oil industry; move to provide universal health care risking the alienation of the insurance industry; end gun violence and specifically spree shooting and mass killings and thus suffer the wrath of the NRA and the gun industry; ending our wars and incurring the hatred of the military industrial complex.  Individual contributions for some 535 candidates will be sparce, to say the least. 

Only in a fantasy world can we buy into the sexy notion that JUST voting will correct our problems.  What is needed is a laser focus to eradicate the evils perpetuated within our political system.  That will require commitment and sacrifice by “We the people” – by all Americans to achieve. 

Another thread is truth.  As voting is central to the thinking of the Reese crowd, they mistakenly select a political party to do their bidding for them. They incorrectly believe that because a party may rhetorically express support for their own self-serving desires that that party will therefore serve the best interest of the nation.  Political parties do NOT exist to serve the best interest of our nation.  They exist for the sole purpose in creating a power base by winning elections.  They strive therefore to develop pockets of support (demographics) with no regard for the moral or long-term governing ramifications; with no regard for right or wrong – no regard for the truth.  They develop politicians that act as nothing more than windsocks supporting whatever positions will get them elected.  Mitt Romney is the perfect example.  

In 2012 the Romney campaign refused to reconcile his record as governor of Massachusetts with his presidential campaign rhetoric.  

Romney announced; "If elected, I will repeal Obamacare on day one" even though the health care provisions he supported and signed into law as governor were almost identical to the prevailing law of the land. 

Governor Romney stated "I will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose and am devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard” and then stated in his run for the oval office that he would work to repeal Roe V. Wade if elected president.   

Governor Romney banned assault weapons in Massachusetts, calling them; "instruments of destruction with the sole purpose of hunting down and killing people."  He then stated in his April 2012 NRA speech; "We need a president who will enforce current laws, not create new ones that only serve to burden lawful gun owners.” 

Romney refused to repudiate his actions as governor of Massachusetts, while continuing to run opposed to those actions as he campaigned for the presidency.  This strategy was obviously designed to entice voters with opposing points of view to support him.  Both camps could believe Mr. Romney just may be sympathetic to their beliefs.  This whole approach is ripe with deceit and by no means provides anything resembling the truth. 

Across the aisle, the Democratic Party rigged their nomination process through the manipulation of Super Delegates to ensure Hillary Clinton won the nomination.  They didn’t see her as any kind of a solution.  They didn’t choose her because they believed she had any burning desire for America’s best interest.  They choose her because of her pedigree, the fact she was a woman and because of her political background.  In the minds of Democrats, she couldn’t lose. 

If we are learning anything from our election process it is that neither political party has any fondness for the truth, democracy or any sense of obligation toward the American people.  What is getting lost in all this chicanery is the importance of the issues and the future direction and development of our country.  Things like the truth, authentic and meaningful solutions and a viable agenda are currently dominated by political strategies designed to win elections.  

Because only the spin, manipulation and indoctrination matters, the truth requires enormous due-diligence to be determined.  This requires time and a strong commitment and hard work to ferret out.  Refusing to participate in the riggers required in our Democratic Republic in favor of the blame game and the simple fix of simply voting our troubles away, will NEVER propel us forward. 

If we as a nation are unwilling to engage in the true spirit of our Democratic Republic then this grand experiment called America may indeed vanish before our eyes. 

Why a Memorial Day

“Congressional Medal Of Honor"

   Petty Officer, 2nd Class Mike Monsoor               

  April 5th, 1981 ~ September 29th, 2009

He is an American hero who because he never played major league baseball…who because he never played in the NFL, the NBA or the NHL - and who has never been featured in a motion picture or ever nominated as one of the world’s most eligible bachelors and who was never highlighted in “Who’s Who” is, therefore, someone very few Americans know of. 

 He just gave his life in the belief of the principles and ideals we should all cherish.  He died in Iraq covering a grenade with his body saving the lives of a contingent of Navy Seals.  His funeral was held at Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, California.

As six pallbearers removed the rosewood casket from the hearse the column of people that stretched from the hearse to the grave site dispersed and followed behind the casket.  

This column included the 45 Navy Seals who were in Iraq on September 29, 2009, the day Petty Officer Monsoor died.

   When the casket arrived at a Navy Seal, he would remove his gold Trident Pin from his uniform, and slap it down with enough force to embed the pin into the top of the wooden casket.  The Navy Seal would then step back and salute. 

The gold Trident Pin, worn by the Navy Seals, is awarded after more than 18 weeks of training and marks their entry into this prestigious group.  It is a symbol of success and pride.


Each of the 45 Slaps could be heard throughout the cemetery.  

The 45 Trident Pins gave the casket the appearance of having a gold inlay.

He was posthumously awarded The 
Medal Of Honor.  It is the highest military honor awarded for personal acts of valor that are above and beyond the call of duty.  

And now you are one of the very 

few who also know of Petty Officer 2nd Class Mike Monsoor.