Taking Aim at Commo
a scholium on style and usage
Proper words in proper places, make the true definition of a
style.
Jonathan Swift ["A Letter to a Young Gentleman, lately
entered into Holy Orders" (1721)]
From Sea to Shining Sea
It's a common expression. Oh, I just
LOVE .... The outburst could be in
reference to mother, spouse, puppy, ice cream, or sunny weather,
generating joy, delight and happiness, at least for the moment.
It's that indefinable something, that visceral experience we find
hard to express in the glib form of a bumper sticker, but we know
it when we see it. We also love our country and those who keep it
safe and secure, setting aside holidays like Independence Day,
Memorial Day and Armed Services Day as a commemoration. Call it
patriotism, national pride, or
allegiance, it is a mixture of feelings that range from
admiration to xenophobia, from boastfulness to zeal, a compendium
of loyalty, evaluation and commitment, that like any loving
relationship, is as fascinating as it is complex.
Think of the kindergarten pageant where a group of five-year old
pilgrims and their Indian counterparts are celebrating the first
Thanksgiving, complete with cardboard turkeys and cornstalks
propped in the corner as part of the scenery. Weeks of effort
have gone into the production to be performed in the cafeteria or
gym with Mom, Dad and Grandpa sitting on stiff folding chairs,
eagerly awaiting the entrance of Melissa or Jacob or Tommy while
cameras click to preserve their fifteen minutes of fame. The
wonderment in the children's eyes says it all. They were told
that it had been a cold winter and the settlers faced starvation,
all the while struggling to adapt in the unfamiliar surroundings.
And they understood the generosity of the Indians that helped to
plant the food and feed the turkeys, despite their fear and
distrust. So when the costumed children approach the table laden
with the first good harvest, the piping voices of little Johnny
Pilgrim and be-feathered Chief Moccasin Foot convey nothing but
sincere gratitude for this, the land of the free and the home
of the brave.
On the way home, there might be talk about George Washington
chopping down the cherry tree and of President Lincoln having
freed the slaves who were brought from a mysterious dark
continent to work in bondage without any hope of freedom. Later
the children will learn about the Civil Rights Movement and about
Martin Luther King Jr., who fought for equality, understanding
that even when a country or a person makes a mistake, it can and
should be rectified. Not unlike unquestioned love of Mom and Dad,
their senses will wrap around George Washington, Honest Abe, Paul
Revere and many other heroes of legend and truth, as they learn
what our society deems to be honorable, decent and good. Without
a doubt, they truly love their country.
But patriotism goes beyond the childlike adulation of heroes. It
also encompasses respect for the soldier, sailor, marine or air
personnel who spend days, weeks and sometimes years away from
family and loved ones in order to serve and protect. That
includes the eager high school grad who enlists in order to
accumulate enough money for college and now finds himself
carrying a full pack along the bombed-out streets in Iraq. It
conjures up the young men who enlisted on their very birthday
during World War I and II, persuading a weeping mother to
Sign Here, giving permission for him to go and fight for
his country. It also includes the Career Regular whose home is
shifted from pillar to post, depending on his country's need. And
it encompasses the child whose surrogate has replaced father or
mother who are fighting on distant shores. Without marching in
lock-step behind waving flags or brass bands, or riding down Wall
Street in a confetti parade, they have reached into their inner
resources and responded to the call. And so as we honor
our military during Armed Services Day, are hearts are filled
with gratitude and pride, for they are also the embodiment of
what we see as right and good.
There is also a sadder side to patriotism, namely the
commemoration of wartime casualties. Those having lived during
World War II will never forget the gold stars hanging in so many
living room windows for four long years, or the terror when
receiving a telegram that began, "We regret to inform you ...."
Subsequent wars created their own symbol, as a tied yellow ribbon
or simply the American flag, followed by the murmured prayer for
a safe return. Those who died were among the members of the
regular services, conscripts and volunteers, whose tour of duty
suddenly changed from a nine-to-five desk job to combat on
foreign shores. They may have gone with mixed feelings –
fear, despair, or just plain annoyance. But they went because of
duty, honor, and yes, patriotism. So on Memorial Day (formerly
Decoration Day begun during the Civil War), we designate the day
as one where we place flowers on the graves of veterans. On this
day, the cemetery plots are covered with flowers and flags as
family members acknowledge the ultimate sacrifice, a mixture of
pride, gratitude and loss.
Veteran's Day (formerly Armistice Day) originated after World War
I to similarly honor those who served their country, and a spot
at the Arlington National Cemetery is designated as the Tomb of
the Unknowns where the official commemoration is held every year
on November 11th that represents all the services. To
that end, an honor guard from the 3rd U.S. Infantry
keeps day and night vigil. It is a somber and moving tribute,
guarded 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and in any weather by
Tomb Guard sentinels, considered to be the best of the elite. The
guard is changed every hour on the hour from October to March in
an elaborate ritual and from April through September, on the half
hour until closing time. At that time, an impeccably uniformed
relief commander appears on the plaza to announce the Changing of
the Guard. After the ceremony starts, the relief commander walks
out to the Tomb and salutes, then faces the spectators and asks
them to stand and stay silent during the ceremony. In these
moments of reflection and reverence, the participants and
audience alike acknowledge those whose courage will never be
known. The people might have come in as tourists, visiting
another one of the Washington sights, but they leave exalted,
filled with the sense of national pride that honors the fallen
who died representing what their country stood for.
Along with days of commemoration, heroes might be honored with
inspiring statues or plaques along with busts of favorite sons
and daughters. Significant wartime battles have also been
celebrated, such as the replica of raising the flag on Iwo Jima.
But there is a monument that reveals a darker side of patriotism.
That is the Viet Nam Veteran's Memorial Wall in Washington D.C.,
a memorial to those who fought in the most unpopular war in our
history.
Beginning with the American Revolution and encompassing the
Spanish-American war and two world wars, our citizens have
proudly declared we have never lost a war ... until Viet Nam.
From the mid-60s and even before, some half a million Americans
slogged through the jungles and rice paddies of East Asia,
fighting heat, insects, and an undefined enemy, while here at
home the people raged, fomenting a near-revolution. There were
those who burned their draft cards and those who enlisted,
knowing full well what lay ahead. There were mothers and
daughters who marched in protest, and sisters and wives who hid
their tears while saying goodbye to loved ones on their way
overseas. There were rallies and counter-rallies, with many
universities occupied and closed by angry students demanding they
be heard. Governmental representatives were also divided, and the
presidential conventions were surrounded by riot police.
One important aspect of democracy has to do with freedom of
expression. A large number of citizens said that we had no
business being in Viet Nam. Did they over-reach? Or were they
weeping inside, saying that this is not what America should stand
for? The war ended after some eight years of active conflict,
both at home and abroad. This time there were no parades or
statues to honor those who served. Meanwhile, the debate
continues.
Then in 1979 a fund was established to create a Viet Nam
memorial. It was dedicated on November 13, 1982 as thousands of
war veterans marched to its site. Made of two long blocks of
granite in a sunken walkway within sight of the Washington
monument and Lincoln memorial, it contains the names of thousands
of Viet Nam veterans who died. Since then, millions have visited
the wall, some to mourn those who were killed, or later died,
others to reflect upon their own complicated feelings about
love of country and duty when called.
Adlai Stevenson declared, "When an American says that he loves
his country, he means not only that he loves the New England
hills, the prairies glistening in the sun, the wide and rising
plains, the great mountains and the sea. He means that he loves
an inner air, an inner light in which freedom lives and in which
a man can draw the breath of self respect."
Beyond the magnificent Rockies and the Mississippi shore is the
bright-eyed wonderment of a new American citizen. Beyond a
child's delight at Disneyland, there is the awe-struck
expression when seeing the Lincoln memorial in Washington D.C.
Beyond offering the world the telephone, the electric light bulb
and the Internet, is the awesome knowledge that we live under the
first workable and longest lasting Constitution in the world.
Such feelings and hundredfold more can be called
patriotism. Or we can accept our ambiguity and call it
national pride. And that says it all.
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