In which Bumblemus is a bit skeptical of...

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Mon May 28, 2012 8:16 pm

Memorial Day. For the non A-Merkins among us, this is the day in which we get the day off work to have big cookouts, go swimming, and, oh yeah, remember the soldiers who died in American wars both just and unjust.

It's the "unjust" that gets me. Bugged a bit by the fact that the main sentiment (although I echoed it) is "thank you." Although I am thankful--war in Afghanistan has knocked out much of Al-Qaeda's network, war in Vietnam and Korea was unjustified for the US but at least based on the Soviets' horrible intimidation, and of course we'd be speaking Nazi right now but for my grandpas--I can't help thinking we're saying a bit much. Thank you for going along with corrupt, moneygrubbing operations like the Iraq War?

I'm going to say thank you to vets. The guys did what they thought was right. But I doubt we're ever going to have a National Protester Day, in which we remember all the people who said [composite word including 'f*ck'] the system and [composite word including 'f*ck'] the corrupt warmongers.

Anyway.

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Mon May 28, 2012 11:44 pm

We don't get the day off work for Remembrance Day in the UK. We do get a minute's silence though. Woo!

Shanti418 · Post by **Shanti418** » Tue May 29, 2012 5:51 pm

Sadly, it doesn't matter if the wars were just or unjust. That's nationalism for you. The important thing is WE'RE Americans, THEY'RE not. It's only a relatively recent (post WWII) phenomenon that we even think of some amount of rights or justice existing outside the nation-state, which previously was the social body that created things like rights or justice. So to me, while Memorial Day may be more problematic than say July 4th or President's Day, they all serve the same essential function: fealty to an American/Other binary through valorization of past actions.

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Tue May 29, 2012 7:27 pm

If you don't agree with the holiday, you can always boycott it, like I do for Christmas.

Er. Carry on.

Hot Shot · Post by **Hot Shot** » Tue May 29, 2012 8:22 pm

Brendocon wrote:If you don't agree with the holiday, you can always boycott it, like I do for Christmas.

Er. Carry on.

I'm trying to figure out how a boycott would be possible.

Go to work, don't cook anything unusual, drop your kids off at their empty school with a bagged lunch, and hunt down your postman to demand your mail?

Jack Cade · Post by **Jack Cade** » Wed May 30, 2012 12:28 am

Do what we do for Jubilee - go on holiday and ignore the reason. Both our working cultures are inefficient and onerous anyway, so treat public holidays as an accidental concession to better sense.

I like Remembrance Day because it's appropriately sombre - you're remembering and acknowledging the massive waste of life, and the decent human qualities of those who died, is how I see it. On the one hand, I would prefer it to be less nationalistic; on the other, Britain and the US both treat their vets pretty shabbily. I think any soldier who went into a war believing he was protecting something important and came out with a life long psychosis or injury deserves at least a nod of respect.

Optimus Prime Rib · Post by **Optimus Prime Rib** » Wed May 30, 2012 8:50 pm

This topic is kind of upsetting to me. Why would you have a problem with a day of reflection for those lost? If you were against the commercialization and "yay another bank holiday" I could see that, but the current tone confuses me.

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Wed May 30, 2012 11:21 pm

I don't have a problem with the day of reflection. If the post carried that tone, I apologize. I hope you saw that I tried to be respectful and thankful to the many vets among my friends on the old Facebook.

To sound academic-y, I sometimes feel that the discourse is too simple. The vets are amazing and I'm eternally grateful for their sacrifices.

I just wish we could pair it with some recognition of those who have fought to bring them home from wars just and unjust. The best way to define it is the difference between calling it "Veterans' Day" and "Armistice Day." One acknowledges that vets are in the population, vets are a crucial part of American history and security, and vets are strong, amazing people. But to me, the other name acknowledges all those things and acknowledges also the hope that war itself might come to an end, and there will not have to be another generation of vets to follow the Iraq/Afghanistan vets following the Vietnam following the WWII following the WWI following the Latin American campaigns following the Civil War... you get my meaning.

Optimus Prime Rib · Post by **Optimus Prime Rib** » Fri Jun 01, 2012 7:06 am

Gotcha. Thanks for clarifying.