Living What They Died For

Photo Credit: Freepik

Today is Memorial Day, a day of commemorating the fallen who fought on our behalf in wars that took our young but assured our freedom. It makes me pause to recall in a sobering way that at this point in history most of us have no personal relationship with a man or woman who died in military service for America. That was not always the case. Walking down our tree-lined street as a child during the 1940’s, one would often see a card with a big star on it in the front window of any home where someone was serving in the war. Occasionally, the card was replaced with one that had a gold star indicating the loved one had perished in the war giving “the last full measure of devotion” as Lincoln said in the Gettysburg Address.

Even though America has endured losses since World War II in massive conflicts like Korea, Vietnam, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, it seems that as time goes on, we lose more of the painful impact and memory of those losses. We can never let this happen. We can never allow an impenetrable curtain to drop before us ignoring the threat of war which is always only one tyrant removed or one ideology at the point of a gun. Our country is spiraling downward into a hellish nightmare of division, depression and anxiety and we need faith and spirituality to keep the boat from going under. 

Nicholas Kristoff is a journalist with a cerebral attitude and a courageous heart whose essay, “The Long View of Hope,” caught my eye recently. Kristoff points out that America has dropped out of the 20 happiest countries in the World Happiness Report. But after a long career of covering wars, civil unrest, and violence across the world, even once being detained in Darfur and nearly executed, Kristoff has hope for America. He has seen the worst of our political canvas but detects a blessing hidden beneath all the corrupt bravado which will break through like the healthy green stem of a spring flower long forgotten. 

Democracy will survive Kristoff seems to say, for these reasons: Only one hundred years ago, President Coolidge’s 16-year-old son died from an infected toe blister he acquired playing tennis. This would not occur today with our success with antibiotics and Medicaid for even the most impoverished child. Because of America and growing Western countries, the most important trend in the world is toward greater elimination of global poverty. Extreme poverty has plunged to just 8 percent of the world’s population. Only 4 or 5 decades ago, a majority of adults were illiterate; we have now reached 90 percent literacy. Worldwide efforts to stem human trafficking is beginning to take effect. When AIDS was ravaging poor countries and we weren’t even sure how to control it in our country, President George W. Bush initiated Pepfar, a program that saved an estimated 25 million lives so far. The World Bank figures the United States has actually increased its share of global GDP measured by official exchange rates, by a hair since 1995. “Uncle Sam is putting the rest of the world to shame,” The Economist noted recently. None of this could have been done without American participation and leadership.

Based on experiences he had in China while covering the uprising in Tiananmen Square, Kristoff writes that he has come to doubt despotism in the long run. He was riveted in watching armed soldiers use weapons to massacre unarmed Chinese citizens. Have we forgotten that horrible story of June 1989? A student protester said to him, “Maybe we’ll fail today. Maybe we’ll fail tomorrow. But someday we will succeed.” Days earlier, when the protest was growing, Kristoff had joined the protesters on campus, and they broke through a line of police who did not shoot or force them back. They ran through the streets, at least a thousand students, and ordinary citizens offered them food and water while shouting encouragement. In the evening, when they returned to the campus, they were greeted by professors crying and cheering them. 

Reflection 

I think the time has come for Americans to take strong stands on democracy and integrity in government. The more I read and listen to credible, informed and intelligent sources from several professions, I am convinced our American democracy is teetering on a very thin, corroded pivot which will crack and disintegrate if not repaired soon. When I recently saw a respected historian interviewed, I noticed a sadness come over his face. He cited historical examples where governments crumbled through circumstances similar to ours and a brief pall came over the interview before the broadcaster could move on. 

I believe that the men and women who died for our freedom would be saddened and appalled to see the misinformation clogging our superior instincts on the constitutional protection of citizen rights, gender equality, separation of church and state and so many, many other rights. We are allowing misinformation, bigotry, violence, and anger to rule the day—and the country. I hope Nicholas Kristoff is right. His article speaks to me about Memorial Day, a day of gratitude for those who answered the call to protect democracy and the hope that we can live freedom honestly. We should pray today for the men and women who died in all our wars and thank them for what we have because of their sacrifice. As someone wrote, “We are the home of the free, because of the brave.” 

Make this Memorial Day a day of grateful prayer and make a resolution to do your part to strengthen the democracy the brave secured for us.

All the facts and numbers came from the article by Nicholas Kristoff, “From Decades of Reporting, a Long View of Hope.” New York Times May 12, 2024, pp. 6-7.