I love what RC2 over at Wheat&Weeds has done to commemorate Memorial day, pairing the beautiful and poignant words of Ken Masugi with the transcendent and necessary words of then Pope Benedict XVI.
First up, Mr. Masugi:
Americans are not just those who find themselves thrown together in temporary coalitions on an issue of the day; they are also bound over generations by inheritance and posterity. Only such a people would think wisdom might reside in the past, to be called forth for the present. Only such a culture could take originalist jurisprudence with full seriousness. Only such citizens would understand the existential meaning of granting citizenship. When we have memories we feel gratitude, realize our obligations, and recognize how to exercise our rights. We remember how to be a free people.
Read it all, please.
Then read these words from then Pope Benedict XVI reminding us why we need to remember:
We need to be reminded of these origins, not least for the sake of historical truth, and it is important that we understand these roots properly, so that they can feed the present day too. It is crucial to grasp the inner dynamic of an event such as the birth of a university, of an artistic movement, or of a hospital. It is necessary to understand the why and the how of what took place, in order to recognize the value of this dynamic in the present day, as a spiritual reality that takes on a cultural and therefore a social dimension. At the heart of all these institutions are men and women, persons, consciences, moved by the power of truth and good.
I pray that as a nation, as a people, we are not losing sight of the past and its importance to our future.
There's too much at stake, too much that has been invested.
