Memorial day a time to reflect

Newsletter #23 / May 28, 2023

Memorial Day is a time to reflect, not just about those that have died, but about why.

The original Memorial Day* was born out of a terrible inferno that was fought to resolve that other terrible inferno: slavery. Slavery died, but of course it was replaced with Jim Crow, which yielded yet another national struggle, the Civil Rights Movement. That in turn gave rise to the Women’s Movement, the Gay Rights Movement, the Environmental Movement, and a host of other awakenings.

All of this, every bit of every struggle back through our entire history has been part of America’s endless quest to match the ideals of the Declaration of Independence with the realities of our lives. That quest has been long and hard. Despite the lofty rhetoric of “All men are created equal” and “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” back in 1776, the  Founders believed in a world where that applied only to wealthy, white males. That we have reached the point that nationwide marches for racial justice are mostly white is a statement of just how far we have come, and the backlash that that progress has created is a statement of just how far we have to go.

(*) Memorial Day was originally called “Decoration Day, and began a few years after the end of the Civil War.

Great Lakes National Cemetery - Holly, Michigan - Credit: Photo/B. Watson

We sit at a fork in the road here in America, a moment as historic as 1860. One path leads forward toward a just society, a time when all Americans share equally in Freedom, Justice, and Opportunity. The other path leads off to division, chaos, and pain. It is an illusion to think that second path leads back to the past. There is no turning back from the changes technology has wrought. But that second path definitely leads to a terrible, ugly detour in the American march toward that just society.

Now, most of us will not live to see the goal of a truly just society achieved, but we are definitely the ones deciding which fork is chosen. That choice is upon each and every one of us, everywhere, from rural counties to the biggest of cities. And that is the meaning of Memorial Day that we need to really reflect on. When those more than 300,000 Union soldiers died in that terrible war, they did so to wrench this country onto the fork in the road that has led …. slowly, and often painfully … to the day when nationwide Black Lives Matter marches were possible.

We are now faced with that same fundamental choice: the fork in the road. This one isn’t about a physical war. It isn't about volunteering to go fight. This struggle is about values, which set of core values will become America’s social norm. It’s why Democrats 101 was written, and it’s very much why the Creed has inspired so many people, the need for those very basic American values to be held up, and accepted.

As you observe this holiday weekend, take a moment to reflect on why it became a holiday, and the true meaning of what we face today. And what needs to be done.

A final note: as a combat veteran who has seen death, I feel pain for all those that have died, and even more for those whose suffering goes on. This is part of why we need to take a moment and reflect about both the past, and the future.

J.M. Purvis is the author of Democrat 101, the source for the Creed.