Memorial Day

This morning I attended the Memorial Day service at the Veterans Memorial next to the cemetery next to Rocket Park. They had a nice ceremony. The North Suburban Concert Band provided the music. I listened to several speakers and watched as people laid wreaths down in memory of those service men and women who gave their lives for our country. As the band played a medley of songs from each branch of the military, veterans from that group stood up. There were a lot of Army, a few Marines, one Coast Guard (female), a couple Air Force, and quite a few from the Navy. I would guess there were as many Navy as Army in the crowd. I heard several people speak about liberty and freedom. I thought about what that means. I wondered how our country compares to others in terms of personal freedom. Some countries dictate dress. In France, students are not allowed to wear crucifixes or head scarves. In some parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan, female students must wear headscarves. I wondered about that farming family from southern Minnesota, the family whose 13 year old son has cancer. Does this family feel the liberty of living in the United States? The medical treatment of their son is being dictated by the legal system. If I was the parent of that boy, I would no doubt opt for chemotherapy, but is it fair that deciding on a different option equals parental neglect? I don't know the answers and I am grateful I am not in their situation. But I suspect that if this family lived in any African country, they would not be forced to give their son chemotherapy. In fact, chemotherapy may not be an option there even if they wanted to use it. As you can see, I was thinking some pretty heavy thoughts as I watched the parents of boys killed in Vietnam and Iraq lay wreaths down in front of the crowd. I wish our species could learn from our mistakes and stop all the wars.