Memorial Day Weekend: Vacation or Remembrance

Sometimes, it kills me when I hear people talk about the vacations they are going on every year around this time, Memorial Day. For some it's a three day weekend, no school! For others its a time to go on big camping trips, and then for some, its a day to have big parties with barbeques steaks. But for the more conservative crazy people like me it's a memorial day. Look it up in the thesaurus and you will find words such as ceremony, remembrance, reminder, or token. Look "memorial" up in the dictionary and it will say: Something designed to preserve the memory of a person, event, etc.

Just today I was in school with my classmates and I heard them all shout out "Yeah! Three day weekend! Woo hoo!" or " Yeah, I'm so excited. I'm going camping." For me, me and my family all go to a Memorial Day service designed to do exactly what its supposed to, preserve the memory of a person, event, etc. We sing songs, we listen to speeches, poems, readings, etc. We stand in honor of our troops, and we raise our righthands over our hearts during the national anthem. We honor the soldiers fighting today, and we our proud of our flag, our freedoms, and our founding fathers.

In my opinion, people commercialize is it too much. How often do you hear, "Come on in for our Memorial Day Weekend Sale! Get shirts, pants, and those cute skirts you've been wanting at a discounted price! " All the time right?  Let me ask you another question, how often do you hear, "Raise your flags in honor of the soldiers who have died for you. Remember the founding Fathers and the soldiers that fought for your freedom. Remember Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Patrick Henry who wanted to make you and your country a free nation."