“Given the deep implications of Memorial Day, the question arises; do we ‘observe’ Memorial Day or do we ‘celebrate’ it? … Looking past the tears and bowed heads and folded hands … we can see something else; an idea. The idea of America is arguably the most significant in human history[:] … the greatest , most prosperous, most egalitarian civic exercise ever undertaken. This is something worth celebrating. … We commemorate their deaths but we can also celebrate the reasons they fought and died.” — Scott Hogenson, former defense official (here).
