By Lonnie Wilkey
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org
Memorial Day will be observed on Monday, May 27. Millions of Americans will enjoy the day off and celebrate by swimming, fishing, boating, picnicking, etc. The list is endless. My question is this: How many Americans truly understand why that day is a holiday to be celebrated?
According to the standard definition, Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering and honoring people who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It originally was known as Decoration Day and celebrated on May 30 of each year. The name was officially changed to Memorial Day by federal law in 1967 and the date was changed in 1971 from the traditional date of May 30 to the last Monday in May, according to Wikipedia.
Lonnie Wilkey
Too many people in America simply do not understand the sacrifices that have been made over the years. We take our freedom for granted.
People literally gave their lives in order that those who followed them could live under the freedoms we enjoy today.
But just like we take what our veterans did for granted, we also are taking those freedoms for granted as well. Slowly but surely, some of the freedoms we hold dear (such as freedom of religion and freedom of speech) are slipping away. If we are not careful, our children and grandchildren will not have those freedoms in the decades to come.
We must remain diligent to protect the freedoms those men and women protected throughout our history. On Monday, pause at some point during the day and thank God for our military veterans who fought and died for our country. B&R
