Memorial Day 2021

  Here in Lubbock, a steady rain drifts down on a gray Memorial Day. For many, this weather fits the occasion. They grapple with the loss of loved ones, men and women that gave their all, in service of their country. Some lose their lives in the fiery cauldron that is an IED. Others and the murderous hail of small arms fire. And others, more than we know, lose their struggle against the demons of memory that stalk in the dark night, succumbing to a relentless tearing at the fabric of their sanity. We should remember and honor them. 

Honoring them means more than flying or planting a flag. It means living up to the ideals laid out in our foundational documents, freedom, equality, and justice to name three. We honor those who fell when we too sacrifice for these ideals. We honor them when we actively pursue truth and justice. We honor them when we let kindness, mercy, and love be our motivations. We honor them when we tamp down the fires of partisanship and stoke the passions of liberty, equality, and fairness. In some form or fashion, they gave their all, in pursuit of these noble goals. Let us to pick up the banner, so recently fallen from their hands, and expand the frontiers of these noble ideals. But there is more to honoring the fallen.

Let us redouble our efforts to ensure that when we send out our blood and treasure that we send them out for the right reasons. We should not engage in armed conflict for frivolous and transient goals. Armed conflict is an endeavor fraught with peril, physical, emotional, and spiritual, and those engaged in such a mortal struggle do not emerge unscathed. When we choose leaders, let them be sober men and women who think carefully before we take that grave step. Let us not choose leaders that recklessly brandish the weapon that is American military might. That is how we honor the fallen.

So, let us not forget the lessons of Memorial Day. Let us remember and honor the fallen when we consider how to treat our fellow citizens. Let us remember and honor them when we go to the ballot box and choose leaders that make wise and just decisions. Let us remember and honor them by expanding equality and justice across the face of our great nation, living up to the ideas for which they gave their utmost.