Sitting here on my couch.
The dog — Jackie Mudpie — sprawled beside me, sleeping.
She’s not feeling well. Her stomach is growling. She didn’t eat much yesterday. Today is a holiday. We’ll go to the vet tomorrow.
There’s been some loud hammering on our house this morning. Our kitchen had a leak, and we just had it fixed. Rain is on the way, and all is well.
It’s quiet now. It’s peaceful.
The dog is not well, but she’s resting. She’s at peace.
It’s Memorial Day, a holiday — and it’s peaceful.
And we talk about remembering those who sacrificed.
They sacrificed because there is a thing called war that we, as human beings, think is normal.
It’s not normal. It’s insane.
I never scarified. Other than books and movies and watching news, I have no idea what war is like. My whole life has been this way — lived in a war-free zone.
It’s Memorial Day. It’s peaceful. And while thanking and honoring those who served and scarified is proper and appropriate, it’s not sufficient.
We can honor them more by creating peace in the future.
How do we do that? How do we eliminate war? How do we change the way we talk about war?
On days like today, we’re drawn to words like glory and honor and sacrifice and country. And that’s good. We owe them that.
But what about including words like insanity and fear and loss and pain and grief and dying young.
How do we make a world in which Memorial Day is something that refers to a relic of the distant past?