Is Memorial Day About Ourselves Or Them?

Memorial Day is about us, where "ourselves" and "them" come together for a solemn purpose.

Last year I emphasized how Memorial Day is about “them”:

Memorial Day is not about us, our own personal aspirations, our courage, our ambivalencies, our agendas. Memorial Day is about humbly and regretfully honoring the loss of the personal aspirations, courage, ambivalencies, agendas of those fallen.

To turn Memorial Day into anything else is to trivialize that loss. To turn Memorial Day into about us instead of them is to place more importance upon ourselves than them.

Those who served or serve never refer to themselves as heroes or martyrs. Those who served or serve made a simple choice, indeed a difficult choice, that serving – with all its sacrifices and mortal conundrums – was for a greater moral purpose than their own comforts.

Those who served or serve recognized priorities above self or personal advantage.

Shouldn’t we?

The year before, I emphasized “ourselves”:

Sadly, Montegna reported that, “There are some in the entertainment industry who cite politics in declining to take part.” [in the annual Memorial Day Concert from Washington, D.C.]

Sinise -- whose Lt. Dan Band tirelessly performs for the troops here and in Iraq -- adds about Memorial Day, “It has been paid for by men and women who have made such sacrifices…and continue to do so. To be able to go out and perform for active-duty service members and their families is a real honor for me.”

This year, as we approach the national election that will seal the fate of hundreds of millions around the world, and decide what we care about, I think it’s fitting to emphasize “us.”

The annual Memorial Day Concert in Washington, D.C. will air Sunday night on PBS from 8-9:30 PM.

Whatever you are doing then, stop and watch, and consider what “us” means.

One of the hosts, Joe Montegna offers a preview, choking up when he reaches his personal “us” moment. (Just click Open and it will quickly download and play.)

Colin Powell adds:

“This kind of (event) touches every family who has someone over there, and those Americans who do not have someone over there are given an opportunity to understand what sacrifice and service are all about.”

The television event will feature a mix of dramatic readings, documentary footage and live musical performances, along with an all-star line-up of dignitaries, actors and musical artists. This includes music legend Gladys Knight, classical crossover soprano and star of the stage Sarah Brightman, Best Actress Tony Award-winner Idina Menzel (Wicked , Rent ), actor and comedian Denis Leary (Rescue Me ), country music star Rodney Atkins, actor and singer John Schneider, actress Gail O'Grady, film and television actress Caitlin Wachs, General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.) and Charles Durning, the quintessential character actor and recipient of the 2007 Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. The National Symphony Orchestra will be performing under the direction of top pops conductor Erich Kunzel. The event is broadcast live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, before an on-site audience of hundreds of thousands and is viewed by millions more at home. It can also be seen overseas by U.S. military personnel in more than 175 countries and aboard more than 200 U.S. Navy ships at sea on American Forces Radio and Television Network.