Happy Memorial Day Weekend

We enjoy this three day weekend by celebrating with parties and
gatherings of family, friends, and neighbors, barbecues and festivals,
car races and concerts; visiting grave sites and honoring those who
have gone before us.

On Monday, May30, 2011, we celebrate the memory of those in the
military who have given their lives so that we may remain a free people.
America is a melting pot of all nationalities and we have all
fought for the same thing......to be free, independent, honorable, civilized
law abiding citizens. We want the right to work for ourselves if we
choose and to keep what we have honorably earned. We want the
right to elect our officials from among ourselves and to vote them
out of office if we don’t like the way things are going. We want the right
to change the laws if they are not fair for all our citizens. We want the
right to be safe in our own homes and the right to protect our own
property. Memorial Day is a day to pray for and thank those who protect
us now and for those who have gone before us to ensure that we keep those rights.

Currently, our military are all volunteers. We The People of the United States
of America willingly choose to hold ourselves to a higher standard
and to live in a civilized world. Everyone, of all nationalities, including
women as well as men, by law are valued citizens with the same rights
to life, liberty and freedom. No one owns anyone in America. We willingly
work together for the good of all, not because our Government demands
that we do so, but because we choose to do so and we choose to hold
ourselves to a higher standard.

We never want to forget that freedom is not free. If we neglect
our history, we can easily lose what we value most. We must
teach our values to our children and Memorial Day is one of
the ways we do so.

In America, we have Memorial Day Parades to celebrate and thank
our veterans. It is one of our common bonds.
United We Stand – Divided We Fall.

Another tradition is

Flags at half-staff until noon (*)
On Memorial Day the flag is raised briskly to the top of the staff and then
solemnly lowered to the half-staff position, where it remains only until noon.
It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day.
The half-staff position remembers the more than one million men and women
who gave their lives in service of their country. At noon their memory is
raised by the living, who resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain, but to
rise up in their stead and continue the fight for liberty and justice for all.

(* read more about the history of Memorial date at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day)

May God Bless America! Protect our troops and those they protect at home.