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TechnoratiBecause both days are related, they're discussed together. The first, Memorial Day, is commemorated on the last Monday in May and was first observed in 1866 and called Decoration Day beginning in 1868. Usage of Memorial Day wasn't common until after WW II and wasn't the holiday's official name until federal law called it that in 1967. The day is an occasion to honor the nation's men and women who died in military service to the country. More on that shortly.
Veterans Day was formerly known as Armistice Day, or Remembrance Day in Europe, that originally commemorated the end of WW I on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of the year in 1918 when the guns went silent, or were supposed to. It was first observed in the US in 1919 and made a legal holiday here in 1938. In June, 1954, Congress enacted legislation changing the holiday's name to Veterans Day.
Both holidays wouldn't be needed in a nation dedicated to peace, but one committed to perpetual war for an unattainable peace dishonors its youth in life and disingenuously honors those who died in imperial wars for conquest and plunder. Nations waging wars only guarantee more of them in an endless cycle of violence, militarism, brutality and shameless inhumanity for those made to suffer and die in combat theaters - so the privileged who get to stay home can profit from them.
People don't want wars but can always be made to support and fight in them using the proved method of choice that always works - fear based on shameless lies and deception by governments with hidden motives unrevealed because who would go along with them if they did. Only by deceitfully scaring people enough to believe the nation's security is threatened will they support foreign wars and fight in them thinking they must. When traumatized enough, those wanting peace can be convinced to go along with the most outlandish schemes planned that if ever explained would be condemned and never supported.
If people knew the wisdom of iconic investigative journalist IF Stone, they'd understand in times of war, or events leading to it, truth is the first casualty. He told young journalists that "All governments are run by liars and nothing they say (about anything) should be believed, and on another occasion shortened it saying, "All governments lie."
Serial lying is the defining characteristic of the Bush administration, but all others earlier were duplicitous as well including the one led by Gerald Ford whose short two and a half year tenure only gave him less time to commit fewer crimes of war and against humanity. He ill-served the public with the time he had, yet we honor him and other presidents instead of exposing their shameless acts deserving condemnation.
It's almost like it's preordained and in the country's DNA that this nation is a warrior state sending its expendable youth to fight and die in foreign wars but not for national security, honor or the rights of free people anywhere. It's always for wealth and power that conquest and plunder afford the privileged who get to stay home safe and in comfort letting others do their dying, then shamelessly holding a day of remembrance honoring them for their sacrifice. This is the long tradition of this nation that since inception in 1776 has been at war with one or more adversaries every year without exception from that time to the present.
These two federal holidays warrant special condemnation. They represent a galling legacy of endless wars and false patriotic glorification of them including the so-called "good" one there was nothing good about as Ben Franklin knew and once said "There was never a good war or a bad peace." Choosing days to honor the dead who sacrificed everything is a sacrilege and failure to note they died in vain on the alter of power and privilege for the few. Their deaths assure an unending cycle of violence and killing with legions of nameless, faceless grave sites ahead only to be known by those who'll experience unconscionable loss.
These commemorative days stand above other federal holidays as symbols of this nation's depravity and ultimate crime against humanity and wasted lives it's taken. They ignore what Lincoln hoped for at Gettysburg in November, 1863 when he said "we here resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth." He knew the horror of war and understood they must end. He also feared they would not and had to reflect that future wars would take their leaders to new battlefields in an endless cycle of death and destruction wars always guarantee.
Future commemorations of past wars should chart a new course - a vow pledging they'll end, and this nation resolves never again. Remembrance should then be an act of contrition and path to redemption, honoring the living, and taking a sacred oath of non-violence promising to stand by it for all time. It should be a solemn dedication to equity and social justice for all in a state of peace renouncing wars and shameless holidays in their honor. One day they'll be no more wars because young men and women no longer will fight in them. When it comes, days of memorial and honoring veterans will end replaced by a Peace Day honoring the living and sacredness of life so those past dead finally won't have died in vain. Pray it comes in time to matter.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to The Steve Lendman News and Information Hour on TheMicroEffect.com Saturdays at noon US central time.
20 Comments so far
Show AllI greatly appreciate Steven Lendman’s thoughts and the courage it takes to write them. As a draftee during the Vietnam War, I can remember the feeling of being a sacrificial lamb and took no comfort in the silent, flag waving majority.
My reaction to 9/11 was a commitment to become a student of history – in the sense of Thomas Jefferson’s thought that “a morsel of genuine history is a thing so rare as to be always valuable.†Needless to say, having gone through the government mandated educational system left me less than prepared to understand the implications that genuine history presented.
My Memorial Day remembrance is of the recent passing of Kurt Vonnegut and an excerpt from one of his last articles:
“The biggest truth to face now – what is probably making me unfunny now for the remainder of my life – is that I don’t think people give a damn whether the planet goes on or not. It seems to me as if everyone is living as members of Alcoholics Anonymous do, day by day. And a few more days will be enough. I know of very few people who are dreaming of a world for their grandchildren.
Many years ago I was so innocent I still considered it possible that we could become the humane and reasonable America so many members of my generation used to dream of. We dreamed of such an America during the Great Depression, when there were no jobs. And then we fought and often died for that dream during the Second World War, when there was no peace.
But I know now that there is not a chance in hell of America becoming humane and reasonable. Because power corrupts us, and absolute power corrupts us absolutely. Human beings are chimpanzees who get crazy drunk on power. By saying that our leaders are power-drunk chimpanzees, am I in danger of wrecking the morale of our soldiers fighting and dying in the Middle East? Their morale, like so many lifeless bodies, is already shot to pieces. They are being treated, as I never was, like toys a rich kid got for Christmas.â€
I would also encourage everyone to read the 1982 Edward Griffin interview with Norman Dodd shortly before his passing. Dodd was the lead investigator for the congressional investigation in the early 50’s into the criminal activities of America’s foundations. The middle section of the interview gives as clear a representation of the fraudulent intentions of America’s wars as anything I’ve come across.
http://www.supremelaw.org/authors/dodd/interview.htm
Gary Jacobucci jacob48@citlink.net
"I don’t comment on EVERYthing"
Thank God
No one has made as honest and heartfelt a Memorial Day statement this year as Cindy Sheehan. She goes to the heart of the matter.
cankpe
"patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels"
those who wave the flag in support of a nation committing unspeakable atrocities...those who actually commit them...those whose soverignty was ripped to shreds yet who choose to allign with the agents of that crime against humanity...
vet or no vet, this is a blindness, a disease. and no one is immune. you have a good heart and i wish you well. maybe we will one day succeed in opening the eyes of our confused brothers and sisters - white, black, red...
Cankpe: As a Caucasian interested in Indigenous mysticism, etc I have attended Pow-Wows in Florida. I go with a man friend who is as close to a native as any "white boy" can get. (I'm sure we both were Indians in former lifetimes.) Anyway, we BOTH were very taken aback by the respect and glory the Pow Wow granted to Veterans. We both saw the absurdity that the people of "the First Nation" would lend respect to the agents of war that took their own lands! I realize the macho premise of being strong and able to fight (presumably for things worth fighting for) is a staple of many cultures and rituals, but it's ABSURD in this context. By placing the power of violence as a supreme virtue, all of society collapses under the moral weight of this askance value. Good luck with your struggle.
I am especially troubled this Memorial Day Weekend, which is not really a day to contemplate the sacrifice of the dead, but rather, another 3 day celebration of the great gods of consumerism.
What's been troubling to me as we watch motorcyclists tearing up the lawn at the White House, in the name of those MIAs still lost in various slaughters; the Indy 500, and the NBA, and NHL, and who-ever-else is dragging out a season that is 4 months past closure; what really really gets my attention, is this:
Why don't any of the ritualistic articles about the latest body count in Iraq [Ours, we don't count Iraqis...] You all know the ones "8 American troops reported dead in Baghdad..." give the total casualties for May?
Some reports have mentioned that the casualty rate will be 'one of' or "the highest" for any month of the War, if it continues. Yet no one gives the totals. I am sure this is deliberate, given the nature of the propaganda feast this week: Democrats in disarray; Bush in charge; Cheney firing up the new graduates at West Point; And, lest we forget, Memorial Day.
Yet, the most important news to many is just how many more young men and women have died. You'd think that would be important to the Press and the officials who voted to continue the killing, but somehow, not this weekend please...
The thought processes of Rove, et al, are so transparent:
We'll start reminding you of the treachery of those Muslim Hell Hounds next week, when we need to stir up some confusion to hide the latest report about the Justice Department...
In the meantime, I hope you all had a great weekend. To paraphrase our Exalted Leader, if you want to help the war effort, go spend money!
Hello All,
First time posting. My name is pronounced "Chahnkpae Ohpee" and means Wounded Knee in the Lakota Language. I am in agreement with the article and have been enoying the commondreams website for some time now. I will make this short and to the point; I am a political representative on an indian reservation, a couple of weeks ago I made a comment to the effect that I could not support giving a veterans organization some funds (small amount) and that I prefer that the money went to children for education. I also made the statement that war is murder and that children are killed in wars and that I could not provide funds for this type of honoring (the money was going for a Vets Pow Wow to be held soon which honors all Vets past and present for participation in peacetime or wartime service). I did mention that if it had been for helping with their mental illness and/or physical illness and then I will understand. Needless to say my head is now on the chopping block (the council has the impeachment powers, there are 18 of us and the president votes in case of a tie). The Vets presence here is overwhelming, although I have supporters, some vets included, the tribal council relies heavily on the "vet vote" (in my opinion because of the overall lack of political involvement of our communities, any special interest group with a little extra time on their hands can be very effective in enacting their agenda) and are often afraid to go against the vets wishes (military influence). My worry is that in the near future we will have a paramilitary wing unofficial of course operating to protect the vets interest here.
Cankpe Opi
I look to europe for lessons and examples of mature domestic and foreign policy. In the run-up to the war, there were millions in the streets opposing the illegal invasion. Paris, London, Berlin, and New York saw marchers who resisted then and resist now. Those coaliltion countries; Spain, Germany, Honduras, Japan, and others have been withdrawing troops and support of the Bush Iraq catastrophy. Centuries of war and the tragic results seem to have left a hard impression of the ultimate futility of violence and imperial colonization in the collective mindset in Europe. I would look to the measurable success of the peace movement in this country and attitude that resulted from the Viet Nam war which forced Bush the first to form a coalition with other nations to share the costs and risks before going to the defense of Kuwait in 1991. It was not easy for Bush and co. to start this war but I doubt it will be easy to end without impeaching cheney and bush.
We should change the name to National Sucker's Day. It's no secret that politicians of all parties look upon soldiers as canon fodder; pawns in their political games; a means to further their political ambitions; nameless, mindless gun-toting losers who pledge their minds, bodies, and souls to unscrupulous, lying presidents. And they cover it all up by throwing around words like patriot, defense of country, and heroes. Wake up and read your Constitution. Then read the Geneva Conventions and the Nuremberg report. After that, if you still want to follow the orders of a war criminal, prepare to be one.
Still haven't heard it ; probably never will ; too un-American : Soldier, desert and I'll "support" you financially.
Everything else said,however true,is whistling into the wind.
TO: Inri Porter
Re: Your complaints about Jaded Prole commenting frequently or ALL OF THE TIME
So what. Don't read Jaded Prole's stuff if it bothers you.
Also, you have the same right to comment ALL OF THE TIME TOO. And even your comment about Jaded Prole's commenting ALL OF THE TIME is perfectly okay.
But those of us who object to your objections also have the right to say so.
THE ABOVE is called A LITTLE DEMOCRACY IN ACTION on commondreams.com
Now isn't that what we want from our current rolling-over media ... a mix of opposing viewpoints instead of shutting down voices with alternative or opposing messages?
Democracy 101 ... have a good day.
c/m
"Why does Jaded Prole feel it necessary to comment on EVERYthing?"
I don't comment on EVERYthing but if it really bothers you . . .
Oh, well, I'll consider myself a success, especially if it makes you think.
Namvet67:
America doesn't want to END these holidays. It has to have fresh sacrifice to the cult of the soldier. Turning dead soldiers into immortal heroes is what makes a fresh batch of young people throw their lives away for the State.
Duty, Honor, Sacrifice
All noble sentiments...until their used for immoral and illegal causes.
If you want to end Veterans and Memorial Days then this country needs to start listening to its vets. Veterans know the way to peace, and could lead America away from war. With no more wars there would be no need for these holidays.
Hoa binh
Memorial Day 2007
My heart ponders a life span of 71 and wonders at a world that has not seen a day that war was not contemplated or in progress.
My mind cannot, will not, grasp the enormous amount of living humans that knew death and destruction and left others to mourn and bless.
My body saw and felt the warriors lament, the supporters in the rear bases that sent engines of death from the sky. The difference? I did not face death on moments notice but I killed as surely as if the trigger was on my finger.
My soul knows that life is not meant to take life and it is the way of armies to get minds to forget the soul and get the heart and body to harm another. A Memorial day to remember that all, not just vets, should show death, in war, the door and persuade life to linger.
To all with love, Tony
To inri, because we are allowed too!
I wouldn't get my hopes up that a Peace Day will be designated any time soon and, if one is, that it would continue to serve that original purpose indefinitely. After all, it's been tried at least twice before.
Mother's Day was originally supposed to be a call for peace and disarmament. (Ironically enough, promulgated by Julia Ward Howe, the woman who wrote the lyrics to The Battle Hymn of the Republic). Now it's all about Hallmark moments.
Armistice Day (now Veteran's Day) was originally designed to be a commemoration of "the resumption by the people of the United States of peaceful relations with other nations, which we hope may never again be severed" after the catastrophe known as WWI. It was supposed to be celebrated "with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations". Now it's all about supporting whatever imperialistic warmongering the country chooses to engage in.
Peace Day would soon be renamed National Defense Day, and celebrations would involve backyard barbecues and bargain shopping at the big box stores, as almost all of America's holidays are celebrated.
Here's my Memorial Day salute to a great soldier that is no longer bodily with us:
"There is no glory in battle worth the blood it costs."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
It is no coincidence that the US flag was designed to expand with territorial conquest. The worship of militarism has been an integral part of our nation's secular religion, along with the worship of material accumulation. We need to replace these destructive icons with more a constructive national identity that values humanity and self-sacrifice for community instead of for some out-dated barbaric delusion of "glory" on the battlefield. The bravery of defending our collective interest against those who would mislead us and cause us harm is far more admirable than bravery on the field of someone else's battle. A holiday to honor that would be great -- and it already exists! It's called May Day.