As the world fights a war against an invisible enemy, a virus that we as Americans were woefully unprepared for, and as the body count continues to rise, we pause today to honor our warriors. Memorial Day is a national holiday when we acknowledge the brave Americans who answered the call and gave their lives, making the ultimate sacrifice fighting in far off lands under the flag of the United States of America. Today, American military personnel remain in harm's way while protecting America’s interests and Americans here at home as well as our allies across the globe who share our values. They face an enemy sworn to destroy us and all that we stand for.
This Memorial Day we should all take a breath, a timeout, to set aside our differences. Politics is the ugliest it's ever been. The divisiveness in our country has pitted Americans against one another. On 9/11, we were all Americans. Our differences weren’t that important anymore and our country was stronger. We’ve slipped a bit since then; actually, we’ve slipped a lot. Even the pandemic that has killed Americans indiscriminately — young and old, men and women, black and white, rich and poor — has been politicized. It’s a disgrace.
On Memorial Day, we remember and honor the American soldiers who came home in flag draped coffins and the fallen that never made it home. Today, we display our flag at half mast. Our flag meant everything to them and it should mean everything to us. All of us.
