Happy Memorial Day

Image via Pixabay.

We're home for the holiday, with some hope that the weather will cooperate long enough for me to clean out the grill and (finally) inaugurate the outdoor cooking season. I have always held that an important part of thanking and remembering those who have fought for our freedom is to enjoy the day. I still do, but I also agree with Alex Epstein that we should take a moment to recall the nature and proper purpose of military service. I recommend reading (or re-reading) his classic editorial on the subject in full, but I'll quote his conclusion here:

To send soldiers into war without a clear self-defense purpose, and without providing them every possible protection, is a betrayal of their valor and a violation of their rights.

This Memorial Day, we must call for a stop to the sacrifice of our soldiers and condemn all those who demand it. It is only by doing so that we can truly honor not only our dead, but also our living: American soldiers who have the courage to defend their freedom and ours.

Given that we remain in the same undeclared and largely unacknowledged state of war that began with the atrocities of September 11, 2001, it is neither trite nor an overstatement to say that every day is, in a sense, Memorial Day. Our country is under attack on multiple fronts because of the idea that sacrifice is a moral ideal, and yet so many of us still proudly pursue our own happiness. Even if all you do to celebrate this day is to hold a small family barbecue, you will have ample opportunity at other times and places to fight back against the evil idea that we do not belong to ourselves. I think of this piece as both an opportunity for reflection and a means of advanced preparation to fight for justice for our military.

-- CAV