After every major war or incident, our country does something to honor those who died. Well, we do for a time, but then memories fade, and the survivors die. Then a new war is waged somewhere on our planet.
I personally shudder when somebody plays Taps. It hits way too close to my heart. My father and maternal grandfather both died in the Philippines during WWII. And a great uncle died in Italy during that war. And one uncle died just before that war when the bomber he was flying blew up. Plus, I had ancestors die during the Revolution and most of the wars to follow. And before that, I had ancestors die because their home countries didn’t approve of their religious beliefs.
Now, there are some notable exceptions to the rule. For instance, we do still celebrate our Revolutionary War with the Fourth of July, or Independence Day. But we don’t recite Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address as often anymore, though it is such a powerful and heart-wrenching piece of prose. And should be remembered.
And I’m not alone. Countless families have lost souls to war. After a while, we’ve sealed off those parts of our psyches and gone on with our lives.
A generation of children has learned to go on with their lives after 911, the latest horror to sear our hearts. Except for all the service personnel and their grieving families who still remember the destruction of the day and then the hollows in their hearts of those who died.
Now, of course, we mourn those who are dying or mourning the dead in Ukraine, or countless countries in Africa. Many places in this world or ours suffer needless deaths. Is it the same throughout the universe? Or have more distant solar systems learned how to live in peace? Can’t we try?
Can’t we give a little of ourselves or our land or our beliefs to live in harmony? Can’t we at least try? Can’t we forget how to play Taps?
Can’t we look forward to celebrating the good things that have happened or could happen in our world and in our universe?
You can point to Christmas and Easter, but that’s only for a group of people and not everyone. Or you can point to any other religious holiday, which is supposed to be a time of forgiveness, healing, and joy. But is actually brought about by the death of someone else?
So, here’s to all who have sacrificed for the rest of us, and here’s to trying to live in harmony with each other. Let’s vow to cherish each other no matter our skin color, or our religion, or nationality. And let’s do try to remember that we are all part of the universe.
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