Memorial Day- Being American

I started writing this article about Memorial Day, when a tornado came and devastated the city of Moore, Oklahoma. This got me thinking about our country and what it really means to be American.

Even though most of us had no idea where Moore was, we felt as if we were there. We saw what happened at a school and our hearts went out to families that we'll never know. We cried for those who lost loved ones; we prayed for them. They were people in another state, yet we felt as if it was the person in the next cubicle, or the family down the street.

We know that feeling. We felt it when Katrina and Sandy hit. We shared a horrible loss with the families of the Sandy Hook victims. A few weeks earlier, we were all Bostonians. Tornadoes, hurricanes, shootings, earthquakes, bombings; it may not have happened to us personally, but it happened to us.

I often think of America as this big, somewhat dysfunctional family. We'll squabble about the most ridiculous things, but when something horrific happens to some of us, it happens to all of us. We'll open our doors, we'll open our checkbooks. We'll open our hearts. Its who we are.

I remember after the September 11 attack, when lawns that a few months earlier displayed Bush/Cheney signs or Gore/Lieberman signs, displayed American flags. We were no longer red or blue. Or black or white.

And that brings me to Memorial Day. Americans who loved their country so much that they volunteered to put on the uniform and put their lives on the line to protect a country that means so much to them.

We don't always agree on the the wars we fight. We may not agree with the leaders who are calling the shots, but, because of the sacrifices that have been made throughout this country's history, we can freely express our opinions. We can do it here and we can do it in the voting booth.

Others can't ask questions, they obey orders. Some come back as heroes; some don't come back at all.

And today, we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice to a nation they loved.

And give a thank you to those who returned.