Thursday, May 27, 2010

TEACH OUR CHILDREN WELL

In May, 1868 General John Logan, National Commander of the grand Army of the Republic officially proclaimed Memorial Day to honor all those who gave their lives in the service of their country.

As a very young girl, I can remember marching in the Memorial Day parade every year and trying so hard not to drop my baton while an ocean of flags waved all around me. As an adult now I reflect on the irony of my Memorial Day parade experience. I was thrilled with my sparkling gold trim on a costume that I was sure dazzled everyone as I marched by. It was a costume to die for. My WW11 Veteran Dad, however, marched along side of me no doubt immersed in his own thoughts about the COUNTRY he loved enough to die for.

The years that have passed since my marching career came to an end have given this “Majorette Idol” time to understand the extreme importance of REMEMBERING the sacrifices of our military. The importance of those sacrifices never diminishes over time.

As of this writing, two very sacred and solemn anniversaries are upon us.
May 31st, Memorial Day is an opportunity to reflect on how vitally important it has always been to teach our children what it took and takes to live in freedom. If we do not make sure that each generation understands and values the freedom they have to make choices, to speak against tyranny, to pursue happiness and attain their own financial goals, we run the danger of becoming the kind of country that needed to be rescued by America in the past.

On June 6, 1944, 160,000 allied troops landed along 50 miles of Normandy France coastline to fight the Nazis. By the end of the day, over 5000 allied ships and 13,000 airplanes had taken back the territory at a cost of 9000 soldiers killed or wounded. The indescribable sacrifice resulted in over 100,000 allied soldiers beginning their advance through Europe to rid the world of such an unspeakable curse.
During the recent years when Americans have been working harder for less, we have experienced the loss of housing, jobs and many have lost hope. There has never been a time in America, no matter what the economic or political challenge faced, that we have failed to focus our collective energy, intelligence and spirit to eradicate any threat to our precious way of life.

While the interest rates are lowering again and home prices are at all time lows, no matter what your individual challenges may be, there is no doubt that recovery is around every corner in America. Whether we are sitting on Easy St, or traveling the Road of Hard Knocks, we owe everything we have to those who gave everything they had. The best way to honor them is to TEACH OUR CHILDREN WELL.

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