By John Lillpop ——Bio and Archives--May 29, 2017
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Notwithstanding the fact that contemporary celebrations of Memorial Day have more to do with three-day weekends, back yard barbecues, reckless episodes of alcohol abuse, and other frivolities, the original purpose was to set aside a national spiritual holiday to remember and honor the brave American men and women who sacrificed their very lives in the service of this blessed nation.
Indeed, in the beginning, it was conceived as a day to memorialize those patriotic American men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend and preserve the liberties and precious freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
No one can deny that horse shoes, watermelon, and fried chicken add zest to the celebratory spirit of Memorial Day.
However, in much the same manner as Christmas is not really about glittery trees, blinking lights, and mistletoe, so it is that the genesis of Memorial Day is really about things spiritual, rather than slothful excuses to overeat, over drink, and otherwise engage in intemperate behavior.Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead. Traditional observance of Memorial day has diminished over the years. Many Americans nowadays have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day. At many cemeteries, the graves of the fallen are increasingly ignored, neglected. Most people no longer remember the proper flag etiquette for the day. While there are towns and cities that still hold Memorial Day parades, many have not held a parade in decades. Some people think the day is for honoring any and all dead, and not just those fallen in service to our country.
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John W. Lillpop is a recovering liberal. “Clean and sober” since 1992 when last he voted for a Democrat. For years, John lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, the very liberal sanctuary city which protects, rather than prosecutes, certain favored criminals. John escaped the Bay Area in May and now lives in Pine Grove California where conservative values are still in vogue.