Memorial Day is a sober reminder of the cost of freedom. Through the centuries, millions of Americans have fought and died for a republic built on the creed that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”.
Memorial Day is a collection of stories of courage and stories of loss. It is a day America celebrates great patriots as we grieve great loss of life and human potential. And it is a day we reflect on the values and freedoms that are the result of those sacrifices.
American’s have a shared loyalty to the foundation principles in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. The protection of freedom of speech and association and religious liberty are constant core principles in our country. The separation of powers was developed to prevent the establishment of a ruling class and authoritarian government. The founders of our country risked their lives to put those ideas into writing during a time when the power of nations was vested only in very few.
In America, reasonable people may differ; open discourse is welcome; dissent is allowed; and equal opportunity is sought. In America, power resides in the free individual; the free exercise of religion is upheld; and our rights emanate from God. America has been described as the “indispensable nation” because it is now and has since its inception been a unique force of good in the world.
America is not perfect, but it is a nation that always seeks to improve. The abolition of slavery, civil rights, and women’s suffrage were perceived as offensive to much of the population at the time these ideas transformed America. These causes and others that have changed America for the better require freedom of speech and open debate.
In the age of McCarthyism in the early 1950’s, the courageous Senator Margaret Chase Smith stood up to Senator Joseph McCarthy’s corrupt and manipulative “cancel culture” crusade. During Senate hearings, she said “some of the basic principles of America included the right to hold unpopular beliefs and independent thought. Exercising those rights should not cause one single American citizen his reputation or his right to a livelihood, nor should he be in danger of losing his reputation or livelihood merely because he happens to know someone who holds unpopular beliefs. Who among us does that? Otherwise, none of us could call our souls our own”.
Those we honor on Memorial Day died for a free America. They fought for an America built on a foundation of respect for genuine listening, open discourse, and allowable dissent.
All these freedoms are still strong in America but will only stay that way with an active defense by us all. Memorial Day is a day for all of us to reflect on America’s past in preserving those human rights. Looking forward, it is a day we reflect on our desire that these rights and freedoms continue for our children and grandchildren.
The antidote to the current hatred, bitterness, and resentment we see too much today is the wisdom of ages. Martin Luther King said in his “I Have a Dream” speech, “we cannot drink from the cup of bitterness and hatred” … “we must conduct our struggle in the high plain of dignity and discipline.”
The success of a democratic republic demands a moral base. It requires a large helping of God’s important commandment of “loving your neighbor as yourself” and the Golden Rule of “doing unto others as you would have them do unto you”. This is what so many sacrificed for me, and it is what we must preserve for our children and grandchildren.
Dr. Rozeman is a practicing cardiologist. He is former board chairman of the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce and NW Louisiana Medical Society. He is currently co-chair of Better Louisiana – a new organization uniting the Louisiana Committee of 100 and Council for a Better Louisiana.