Remembrance

Monday is Memorial Day, which means you’ll have to go three days without my wit and wisdom, as I’m taking the day off. Hopefully, many of you are, as well -- so perhaps I won’t be missed.

Of course, Memorial Day also means remembrance of those who have died in service to the United States. While honoring that service, I can’t help but also remember the impact of war on young people. From loss of life, to loss of family, to lose of innocence and security, to loss of economic opportunity, war impacts a nation’s youth more than any other single group. This is why war should never be ‘opted’ for -- it is a last resort; a no-other-choice circumstance; an exception, not a rule.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not a pacifist. If there is a need to fight, we fight. I just believe that a true need to fight is an extremely rare circumstance, and I don’t believe there is ever justification for the initiation of force. Believing that as I do, I was somewhat jolted by a statement I heard on the radio.

It is almost Rose Festival time here in Portland; an annual event that lasts for weeks. In preparation, a Rose Festival representative was being interviewed on a morning talk show and was describing an opportunity for veterans to march in the big Rose Festival parade. In making the point that it was open to all war veterans, she said in a casual, almost off-hand manner; “it doesn’t matter what war”.

It doesn’t matter what war. No point in being specific, it would be too hard – the list is too long. From the Cold War, to Korea, to Vietnam, to Libya, to Lebanon, to Granada, to Panama, to the Persian Gulf, to Somalia, to the Balkans, to Haiti, to Afghanistan, to the Persian Gulf again – just to name a few – the United States has been in virtually a constant state of war since the day I was born, with the majority of those wars undeclared as required by the Constitution.

The Rose Festival representative was right. It doesn’t matter what war in terms of honoring the service of those who fought – but it matters a great deal, particularly to our nation’s youth, that there is so much service to honor.