Saturday, June 04, 2011

i am again perplexed

i think it must be me- because it irritates the shit out of me that we have memorial day. not because i think that we shouldn't honor folks- but because i continuously hear that we are honoring those who died to keep us free. free from what? with the exception of the civil war and world war 2- the wars america sacrificed lives to were for profit. perhaps we should stop being disingenuous and start saying that we are honoring folks whose lives were thrown away for corporatist greed...

5 comments:

The Future Was Yesterday said...

A huge AMEN!!! from this corner.

Anonymous said...

i know what you mean!

Faded said...

Memoriam soldiers, who die to keep mens riches safe.

Memoriam soldiers who kill another nations poor so that our poor can breathe easy

Memoriam whatever. Its all a joke

Gretchen said...

I honestly don't think that Memorial Day is a bad thing. My son's second grade class did a program honoring veterans and I thought it was great. I think that some go overboard or don't really get it but if the sentiment is in the right place, it's not a bad thing.

billie said...

me either but most in this country don't know what memorial day stands for in the first place and they don't look beyond the knee jerk reaction of 'supporting our troops' to see the reality that lies behind the need for troops in the first place. we should be honoring people who sacrifice for us- daily- by demanding they not be put in harm's way for profit; by making sure that they actually receive their paycheck and that it comes on time; that these folks receive free medical and mental health care for the rest of their lives- because they earned it. it simply seems to me that it's awful easy to sing patriotic songs and intone prayers once a year and then the rest of the year be damned.

i don't disagree with you when you say that it is the sentiment behind it that makes honoring folks special in the first place.