Dear editor,
Maybe I should have not read your publication and relegated it straight to the recycle bin. However, I am glad I decided to thumb through. As a former member of the Armed Forces, I must and I am obligated in respect of my brother and sister veterans, both alive and passed, to comment on your writings.
Your editorial column, Memorial Day is a time to celebrate, is off mark and barely even begins to touch on why we have this holiday. Memorial Day is not, in its design, a celebratory holiday. It is a day to honor and pay respect to those Americans who have laid down their lives serving in our Armed Forces; preserving our precious freedoms and way of life. In a sense, it is also a day requiring sober reflection and contemplation of ethereal matters that are supposedly behind us. I place just as much importance on Memorial Day as I do Christmas.
It is not about the seasonal change, major sporting events, the big sale at the mall, racing on crowded freeways to the nearest boating pond, who can barbecue the tastiest bratwursts and hamburgers, and so on and so forth. It is about why we are able to engage in those activities as we choose.
There are many Americans who have lost sight or are losing sight of the importance of this holiday. Please, by all means, have a good, safe time this weekend introducing yet another summer season into our lives. But prior to your celebrating, take a half a day, find a local Memorial Day observance near your home and attend. Be reverent and remember those who now lie silent around you, no longer able to enjoy the fun times ahead with their families. When all is said and done, look up to those broad stripes and bright stars waving in the breeze and say “Thank you, thank you all for your honorable and selfless service to these great United States of America.”
As I grow older, it is my desire and one my lots in life to ensure that this Memorial Day holiday is not lost to ignorance, uncaring and greed. I believe all good Americans should take a similar mission.
Sir, thank you for your time and enjoy your long, well-earned weekend.
Brian McMahon,
Culver City