Post-Memorial Day: Remember the Living as Well

Memorial Day - a day to remember all of the men and women who died fighting for our country during a war.  It began as Decoration Day after the Civil War.  The northern states wanted to remember all of the men who died during the conflict.  It became a day to remember all of American soldiers who died in war after World War I.

But what happens after Memorial Day?  Have you thought about the fact that every day the number of Americans killed in war continues to grow?  And what about the men and women who return from war, but who are not the same person who left?

While it might sounds patriotic to say "we're defeating terrorism in the world", remember that the cost of this defeat is the actual lives of thousands of American citizens, as well as untold number of other people in the world.  Women, men, and children who live in countries in the Middle East where all of the conflict is currently occurring - these people truly live in fear because so many of them die.

To quote the Fallout video game series, "War.  War never changes."

So while it's nice to honor our military personnel who died for our country, maybe we should work towards keeping the cemeteries empty.