30 May

Memorial Day Parade, Cambridge, N.Y.

by Jon Katz
The Parade
The Parade

Our town Memorial Day Parade is about 30 minutes long, it begins with a salute to the fallen soldiers at the town memorial, and turns a bit moreĀ  festive with floats, little leaguers, 4-H’ers, rescue squad and fire department vehicles and future farmers. It is touching to see the aging soldiers marching proudly in their uniforms, holding flags.

Americans don’t care to dwell too much on fallen heroes, they are honored, but there is little real focus on the horrors and destruction of war, perhaps that is as it should be, life goes on for people and while I find the parades and marches poignant, I always have this sense that we don’t really know how to talk about war.

It seems that almost all of our politicians favor it, accept war as a valuable tool of power and wealth. Pacifists don’t get very far in our political system. Still, I bow my head to the men and women who gave their lives for our idea of freedom and security. They are worth honoring.

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