On some level, this weekend always bothers me.

[Stinky The Clown]

The reason for Monday being a day off is that it is Memorial Day.

It is day to remember people who died in service to the country. The war and its political background doesn't matter. The day is for those of us who are alive to think about the people we stood next to who died.

That stays with me and I can't get past the juxtaposition with reports on gas prices, trips to the beach, watermelon, grilled burgers, and the "unofficial start of the summer season."

The term "Happy Memorial Day" is so wrong.

Memorial Day is for . . . well . . . memorializing.

[REP]

1. Remember the war dead with low low LOW mattress prices!

KC's Liberty Memorial - flanked by weeping sphinxes- is about the only war memorial that reflects loss. I always think of it on Memorial Day.

[onager]

2. Understood

[abq e streeter]

3. Agreed

I used to participate in the annual Memorial Day blues jam put on by the NM Jazz workshop, and always, ALWAYS made a brief statement at the start of our set about what this weekend is really about, and then would dedicate the set to "all the vets out there, and even more, to their buddies that never got to come home". I didn't get all preachy, but just a brief statement and it was always well received, which was gratifying.

[Drale]

4. Memorial day is a day to celebrate the freedoms won by the sacrifices

of the people the day is "memorializing" hense the BBQing, beach trips, watermelon etc, etc.

[REP]

5. No. It was established to honor the dead of the Civil War, and later, other wars

It was originally called Decoration Day. It isn't about jingo. It's about loss and death and pain.

[cherokeeprogressive]

6. "It's about loss and death and pain." I think it's about honor and sacrifice. n/t

[REP]

7. My grandfather served in WW1; my uncle WW2. I wasn't brought up to think war is honorable.

Or that dying in one was a noble sacrifice.

[cherokeeprogressive]

10. I didn't mean to start a pissing contest. It's not just about war.

It's also about people who died in service to their country for any other reason. It began as a means of reconciliation after the Civil War.

I don't know anyone who DOES think war is honorable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day

[roguevalley]

14. agreed. My mother died on Memorial Day. Four years now.

Honor the dead and remember them. They loved us and did their best. It is fitting to remember them.

[Stinky The Clown]

8. Read this

http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html

[Stinky The Clown]

9. Read this, too.

http://www.usmemorialday.org/act.html

[marmar]

11. And as Thom Hartmann said earlier today, the best way to remember them....

..... is to stop people dying in pointless wars.

[Stinky The Clown]

12. He's right

[pintobean]

13. Excellent post. K/R

[Hannah Bell]

15. i was thinking today that the only good thing i can say about nancy grace is that

she does a nightly segment memorializing the dead in the unending war on terror.

she's a big phoney, but she seems to be the only person on tv that regularly acknowledges people are dying in war every damn day.