Happy Memorial Day

I wish my readers a happy Memorial Day, and ask that you take a moment to consider the nature of the commitment our fallen soldiers and veterans made. In particular, I again recommend Peter Schwartz's recent op-ed, "Memorial Day -- But Don't Call It a Sacrifice", and Scott Holleran's blog post, "The End of Iraq". Here is an excerpt from the latter:

This Memorial Day weekend, I urge Americans to think, or re-think, and think twice about the men and women who fought and died, the unending war and the fact of doom and dictatorship that threatens to destroy freedom in America. Read this interview with my late friend and teacher, war and history professor John David Lewis, who studied the essentials of liberty and victory. Read, think and check your premises, as Ayn Rand wrote. If you, too, regard Memorial Day as the proper time to think about liberty and victory, and reflect on those who gave their lives for your freedom, with life as the ultimate value, pledge to honor the fallen, especially the one who once said: "Let's roll". Let the end of Iraq be the start of a renewed, radical American ideal. [bold and link in original]

Too often, memorials are somber affairs, and too often, celebrations lack substance. There is no good reason for either to always be the case. Our war heroes, after all, fought for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness -- in both abstract and concrete terms.

-- CAV