Memorial
Day—2005
|
Memorial
Day—2005
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
Memorial Day represents a solemn tradition in the United States. As with any traditions, it is handed down from parent to child in order to provide a fitting continuity that joins yesterday with today and tomorrow.
Lessons must be learned. They must be transmitted from one generation to the next. They make us who we are. This is what family and community is all about.
The vision of democracy and freedom is there to be seen. Sometimes we just have to lift someone up on our shoulders and point to where it is, what it means—what it has always meant.
We have to see them for who they are, the living ones who attest to the bravery of those no longer with us. We need to see their uniforms, hear their marching feet, in order to remember...
The uniforms represent a variety of service. The faces, genders, and ages remind us that they are people just like us, as were those who passed before them .
They
march through our lives as proud yet somehow grim reminders that freedom
has its price.
The price is not always on some battlefield across the sea. Sometimes
it happens in our own neighborhoods—
The distant past reminds us of the continuity of sacrifice.
The sounds play on, rooted in our souls.
Young people respond to the call. They develop their minds and bodies for the good of the communities.
Even the youngest carry the blessings of their hopes and dreams and innocence.
The music is upbeat, reminding us that the future is full of hope as long as our spirit remains unbroken, as long as we fight to preserve what is right and confront what is wrong.
Our local leaders pay tribute to the many lives lost or permanently altered.
Speakers remind us of how real personal sacrifice can be.
The salute says it all.
Having refreshed our idealism, they march away, joining the memory of others.
—Photos
donated by Lisa Sartorius |
|
