Memorial Day

So today is Memorial Day. How many people do you think actually stop to think about what today is supposed to be all about? I mean after shopping, the beach, BBQ events, and a 3-day weekend. Today is about remembering and appreciating all the U.S. citizens that have died protecting what we, and those before us take for granted about this country. I am loathe to use the word freedom during this time when, in my not-so-humble opinion, the word is abused. As first-generation American, I perhaps appreciate what this country is supposed to be all about more than many others, but not like my parents, immigrants, do. Freedom from organized tyranny and oppression. Opportunity as far as the eye can see. Privileges beyond the wildest dreams of most of the world.
We should all be grateful to those who have been killed protecting all these things. But more importantly, we should consider those who are now in harm's way. The military action in Iraq is by no means the first time the U.S. has stuck its fingers where they do not belong, and not the first time that something was sold as a just cause, but is not. Think about those men and women in harm's way right now, and why they are really there. Do we really know? Probably not. Maybe mistakes were made in evaluating military intelligence. Maybe there are corporate motivations. Protecting that which we require as a country to function is not something to be scoffed at, but is also not something to take lightly. We need to have some foresight about the future, and to use a trite phrase, invest in the future.
Protect our freedom, yes. But use the right definition of the word, which is not to be confused with privilege or luxury. War is something that the vast majority of us have no concept of. War should really never be an option until the endgame comes around, and it should never, ever, be tool or vehicle for leveraging our interests or ensuring our luxuries. People die during war. Should we have rooted out Al Qaida after the attacks on our own soil? Yes. Should the government have exploited the fears of the common people in order to further various agendas (which to many policy makers probably seems like the right thing to do)? Should we have gone into Iraq? I don't think so. People are giving up their lives there, right now, in the name of Freedom with a capital "F", but that's not why we are there.
Remember, people die during war.