Monday, May 28, 2012

Memorial Day

It is tempting to join in the politically-correct sentiment and say that "freedom is not free," but that is a statement quite political in nature, uttered by those who have political axes to grind.

It is tempting to say that our military personnel risk their lives and impact their families in order to protect us, but that is not correct: Ulysses Grant said it when he called the Mexican War in which he served "a shabby little war" of his part in which he was ashamed.

Most of our wars and "police actions" have been shabby little wars that were never wars of national defense, but of ill-advised aggression and swagger, undertaken for political reasons.

Memorial Day is when we celebrate with prating inapposite words those sacrificed on the altars of ego and foolishness.