On Monday, Americans celebrated Memorial Day, a day to remember and honor our veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of the many freedoms we all enjoy as citizens of this great nation. No matter what anyone says, we should never doubt that we are a great and mighty nation. Furthermore, the United States of America should never have to apologize for defending itself. There are no apologies needed on any soil, foreign or domestic, for our nation being the great and mighty nation that it is. Throughout its rich and storied history, America has always defended itself, as well as many other nations. We are a proud nation and a free nation. To those whom we honor and remember each Memorial Day, we owe an immeasurable and priceless debt that can never be repaid.
Memorial Day is a day that we mourn as a nation. Many people do not realize this. During my youth, I was among them. Back then, I thought of Memorial Day solely as a day of celebration instead of a day of remembrance and mourning. Yes, there is much to celebrate. However, remembrance, mourning, and recognition should stand first and foremost in our hearts on Memorial Day.
I pray that we never forget the real reason for Memorial Day. The United States of America is the greatest nation in the world, the greatest nation the world has ever known. There is absolutely no question about it, and this matter shall never be up for debate. Memorial Day is the day we remember those who put down their own lives to help make our nation great. It has been almost 249 years since our nation declared its independence. Since then, our country has depended on those willing to sacrifice their own lives to protect our immeasurable and priceless freedoms, our way of life. The words “divine” and “providence” are often used together in defining this great nation of ours. I use the word “ours” with heavy intent. This nation is ours. We should never permit any individual or group to take our nation away from us. This nation belongs to us all.
With that said, we all have rights. Whether or not we like what someone has to say or the cause for which they stand, they have the right to voice their opinion. We all have that freedom, not just a select few who are trying to drive the political spectrum and dialogue in a particular self-serving direction.
I love the word freedom. In this great nation of ours, we are free. Free to speak what we think and feel, free to worship when and where we choose, free to succeed with dedication and hard work, free to associate with whom we choose, free to work where we choose, and much more. These freedoms are a gift—a divine and precious gift from God and, once again, a gift afforded to us by those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
We should never lose sight of the fact that we have to work hard to succeed in striving for the many pleasures and the way of life that we choose to live. None of us should expect anything to simply be handed to us. Hard work, dedication, and sacrifice, combined with the freedoms mentioned above, help to make our nation great. This is what sets us apart from all other nations.
Traditionally, Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer. Soon, there will be grilling, swimming, vacation travel, and more. Personally, I always look forward to the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 auto races on Memorial Day weekend. But again, there is so much more to Memorial Day than this. There were also several opportunities to attend a local remembrance ceremony on Memorial Day. I hope that you and your family had an opportunity to do so. And I pray that you and your family had a great Memorial Day in remembering those who paid the ultimate price so that we can live our lives in freedom as a part of this great and mighty nation.
Randy Brown is Executive Vice President of Specht Newspapers, Inc., and publisher of the Minden Press-Herald.