So, it's Memorial Day
Of course, being me, I have too many conflicting thoughts to really reconcile what all of it means to me. I think part of my problem is that I just can't accept the simplistic view that all of America's soldiers died to make us "free." Really, after the Civil War, American freedom was pretty much in the bag, and nothing that anyone did from there on out did very little to actually enhance or detract from that freedom. Largely, beyond securing domestic security in 1864, nothing else did much beyond expanding American influence globally.
The US has never had a foreign invader since the early 1800's, and aside from Pearl Harbor, there has never been an attack on the US by another sovereign nation since the last war with the British. So, the whole notion of "fighting to make America free" has been a bit obsolete, considering there hasn't been any threat to US sovereignty in the last 140 or so years. I'm sure even questioning this makes me a "bad American," but I do have a problem with slogans and sayings and beliefs that make no sense at all from a stance based in any sort of reality.
This is not to say that American soldiers haven't done some noble things in trying to fight for others... Clearly, US presence in World War II was necessary, and the soldiers who fought that war, and risked their lives for what they believed the country stood for, should be honored for their willingness to make that sacrifice. But, by fighting in WWII, they did not fight for "our freedom," since "our freedom" never really was in jeopardy from the Germans. Logistically, there is no way in hell that the Germans ever could have made an invasion of the US work-- it would have been an even worse disaster than the attempted invasion of the USSR.
The Vietnam War was definitely not a "fight for freedom" either. How on earth could Ho Chi Minh ever threaten the sovereignty of the US? He couldn't even hold all of Vietnam! And the US was not entering this civil war on the side of freedom: we'd stepped in to back up the French who had colonized the country! This is not to say that the veterans of that war shouldn't be honored and supported for their fighting for this country-- they were fighting to support what they thought was right, and many of them were fighting because they'd been shipped over there involuntarily. This sacrifice should have earned them support for the rest of their lives, and the fact that it hasn't is a real disgrace! I think this government should be very ashamed of how these men and women have been treated after sacrificing so much of their lives...
I don't even know if I'm making any sense. I have a problem with the idea of honoring these people for fighting for "our freedom." I think, instead, that they should be honored for being willing to make (or making) the supreme sacrifice of their lives for the interests of this country. And instead of giving them a single designated day, the country should be supporting and honoring them and their families every day. And this support and honor should come in the form of financial assistance, not just words.
