Bigfork Eagle editorial

Teach them well

Little Seviah Woodruff, age 2, probably didn't understand the service she attended at the Little Brown Church Monday for Memorial Day. She probably couldn't grasp the significance of placing a flag on a cross to honor an American soldier. And as she cupped her hands over her ears as the color guard discharged its weapons in remembrance, she probably only thought that it was loud. But that's OK. Her family, who had no one in particular to honor, brought the toddler to her first Memorial Day service to demonstrate the importance of honoring all service men and women.

War. It is a word, nay a historical event, that few of us can truly grasp. We watch the Hollywood movies that do a decent job of depiction, but never come close to the reality of physically being in battle. The sounds. The smells. The sights. The horror. It is so hard to imagine what truths lie on the battlefield. Even now, in a desert country across the world, war is raging. People are dying from bomb explosions and gun fire. Although children don't, and should not, understand the details of warfare, it is so important for them to be exposed to what Memorial Day represents—honor and sacrifice.

Memorial Day, first known as Decoration Day, was initially observed in 1868 to honor soldiers of the Civil War. Its origins can be traced back to General John A. Logan who proclaimed: "The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land." It is believed that the end of May was chosen for the first Memorial Day "because flowers would be in bloom all over the country." Memorial Day is a day to remember those we have lost, and it is a holiday that is losing its meaning for the young generations.

Sure, Memorial Day is a day off work and school. It is a three-day weekend that usually signifies the beginning of summer. It's a good day to barbecue or boat or hold a backyard party. But first, and foremost, it is an opportunity to honor the lives given so that we may be free. Our liberty is owed to those whose blood has been shed to guarantee it. Our children must be taught to honor their forebears who sacrificed so much for us all to live in a sovereign nation.

Hopefully next year more families, like Seviah Woodruff's family, will take their children to a Memorial Day service. To know where we are is to acknowledge where we come from. You will still have plenty of time left in the day to have a barbecue. But remember, it is an obligation (and it should be an honor) to teach children about liberty, freedom, justice for all, and the price paid for such unalienable rights.