As my husband and I drove out of our neighborhood yesterday, we decided to count the number of American flags flying in front of people's homes. Yesterday was Memorial Day, a national holiday in our nation, dedicated to honoring all of those who have selflessly given their lives for our country through living, serving and dying in the struggle to keep and maintain the freedoms we all enjoy every day.
In a 1.5 mile stretch of driving, we counted just 12 American flags flying...and that includes flags on side-streets that we craned our necks to find and include in our overall count.
Sad.
This holiday is not about politics; it's about people and their sacrifices that we might still enjoy what much of the world does not have the privilege of enjoying. Flying a flag is not such a difficult thing to do--in fact, it takes very little effort to make a huge statement of honor.
So, my question now is what exactly are we Americans so proud of, really? Having lived in a foreign country for 11 years and heard those people say of Americans: "You are so proud of your country!" and then to see such little regard for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice on this one day of national celebration leaves me wondering: What exactly are we proud of? We often pride ourselves in being honorable, yet some of us do not honor those who have gone before us and died so that we can be free?
I'm in a bit of a quandary. Once again: "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they do."
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