Memorial Day–The day to remember.  We should remember more often than one day a year.  But then again, we are a nation that celebrates thankfulness with gluttony and day-after materialism.  We celebrate the birth of our Lord with credit card debt.  Why then shouldn’t we remember with cookouts and big sales on mattresses and cars.

Remember–Remember what?  Remember that people:  Men and women, white, black, Asian, Latino, Native American, rich, poor, Christian, Jewish, atheist, Islamic, straight, gay, citizen and non-citizen, people from every imaginable walk of life,  gave their lives for us to enjoy liberty.  They did not give us the liberty, what they did was to secure the liberty; safeguard it, protect it.  Those who serve today have made the same commitment; they have said by their actions, “If necessary, I will give myself to preserve our way of life.”  No words could ever be employed to adequately convey the gratitude I feel for those individuals.

Remember–Remember what?  Remember that our nation is unique in that it is fundamentally constituted to preserve individual freedoms and rights.  What kind of rights?  These rights:

1.  Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition.

2.  Right to bear arms.

3.  Right to not have troops quartered in your home.

4.  Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures.

5.  Right to due process of law and freedom from self-incrimination.

6.  Right to a speedy and public trial.

7.  Right to a trial by jury.

8.  Freedom from excessive bail and from cruel and unusual punishment

9.  Rights not listed are reserved for people.

10. The states are free to govern themselves within the framework of the federal government.

This is a summary of the Bill of Rights.

Remember–Remember what?  I remember when privacy was the expected norm instead of the aberration.  I remember when there were no speech police monitoring every utterance.  I remember when the press did their job and spoke truth to power.  I remember when people were tried by a jury in a court of law, not tried in the tabloid media and internet posts.  I remember when American Citizens were not executed without due process.  I remember when we thought torture is what the bad guys did.  I remember being able to say what you believe without having to qualify it with overtures of public tolerance.  I remember catching an airplane without being molested.

I remember.