Taps — By John Reed

Taps
Another Memorial Day has come and gone. Another gathering of veterans at the courthouse to honor the fallen. Speeches. Songs, flowers, salutes. Taps. And then folks have gone back to their routines.
It’s nice to have a day to honor those who have died defending the rest of us. But it would be nice if the other 364 days of the year had some meaning for their sacrifice.
To my mind, the modern ceremonies fall short. We only mention those who died in conflicts in the 20th and 21st Centuries. Maybe because no one local died from earlier wars. But it’s important to remember everyone who were sacrificed in every American conflict: the Spanish-American War, Mexican War, various Indian wars, Revolutionary War.
And yes, the Civil War—both sides. Not a popular opinion in some locales, but those who died protecting their homeland weren’t primarily politicians or wealthy slave owners. Nor were those wearing blue instead of grey. Regardless of uniform color, their blood ran red and deserve remembrance.
In the current polarized times, it’s important to remind those who think they’re fighting for one set of values or another that real patriots are those who can rise above the petty squabbles of today. The very things, that lead to what some call “American exceptionalism” — those freedoms more than a million sons and daughters have died to defend over the centuries — are as important now as ever.
Those freedoms are worth having dialogue over. Open-eyed, non partisan discussions.
Let’s do it together.