Rep's Corner

By: STATE REPRESENTATIVE LYNN OLMAN

The summer is almost upon us, and with it, our usual festivities, observances and travels. As many of us enjoy this Memorial Day weekend with our loved ones, let us take a moment to pause and reflect on what this day stands for. Periodically, throughout our nation’s history, our youth has been asked to make a commitment to defend our way of life.

Fortunately, our nation has spent the last several years in a time of peace and we have enjoyed the fruits borne of economic prosperity. However, let us not forget the very men and women whom on lands both foreign and domestic ensured with their lives the very opportunities we now enjoy. Whether during violent conflict or in times of peace, this weekend we remember all of our brave guardians who have passed.

Today, more so than ever, we have a responsibility to convey to our younger generation the horrible, yet fascinating ordeals our older generations encountered. For many children and young adults, the context of their parents and grandparents’ youth may seem increasingly removed, yet they shared a lot of the common angst then that our 18-24 year-olds today face: finishing school, beginning careers and/or families.

What is so remarkable is how ordinary American citizens have time and time again performed extraordinarily under such dire circumstances. They were plucked from small towns, farms, and urban metropolises and sent to the treacherous jungles, deserts, mountains and shores of foreign lands. Many were ignorant of the policies or logic driving the conflicts, yet they took up arms and fought to protect democracy.

Postponing their own life agendas, our soldiers, often left as boys and girls and came back as men and women. Many didn’t come back at all. What did they earn? What did they preserve? They earned a pride that cannot be worn on one’s sleeve or defined in words. They preserved the dreams they never were able to fulfill yet remain embodied in the minds and hearts of us all. The fire that has for generations driven America’s sons and daughters to confront adversity must remain stoked, and we do well to honor those who rose to the challenge.

While we continue to honor those who fought with parades and ceremonies, the best way we can honor them is to participate in the very facets of democracy for which they paid with their sweat, blood and innocence.

We honor them not just by casting our vote and serving on a jury but also by not throwing away our potential. We honor them every time we reach out to those in need, the sick, the young, the old, the lonely - Those who cannot fight for themselves. Our thanks to them should not be limited to one day, but rather daily.

General George S. Patton once said, “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men that died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.” As we celebrate this weekend, we acknowledge that we do not breathe the air of freedom, claim the right to justice or enjoy the privilege of worship without remembering with great gratitude those who gave the last full measure of devotion – their very lives – for our benefit.

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© Copyright 2008 State Representative Lynn Olman. All rights reserved.