Well, the word origin is "holy day." It's definitely taken on a more party-like connotation recently, but if you look at, say, some of the traditional holidays on a religious calendar like Hallowmass or Yom Kippur you'll see that it could be either celebration or quiet remembrance. So in that sense Veterans and Memorial Day fit.
Re: This whole conversation: <Charlie Brown>Good grief.</Charlie Brown> To all that serve or have served to defend our freedoms and are willing to give up everything for that, thank you.
Preferably more than 2 parties, like here in most mainland European countries... America could use some more viable ones as well...
Actually, the purpose of the post was to thank other Veterans. For everyone that has stepped up to the plate and taken the oath to place an ideal ahead of self interest, I'm honored to be among your ranks. God bless each and every one of you and may this great country remain a testament to your faithful and honorable service. You are all great Americans! ..and my 2nd post. Wow, no Veterans here? Not sure how that can be construed as demanding anything from anyone. Thank you! I would agree, the biggest problem is most might as well be from the same party when it comes to spending.
Man, you are either as dense as tungsten or being deliberately obtuse to be irritating. I was quite clearly specifically addressing this comment of yours; you know, the one that I quoted in that post? If I want to thank you personally, I'll thank you. Don't presume to do it for me. That's arrogant as hell. Oh, are we going to switch to your Tea Party parroting questionable knowledge of political facts now in addition to your questionable knowledge of history and absurd American exceptionalism?
Given that France is our oldest ally and helped us win the Revolutionary War I really have no idea why you singled them out. Hell they gave us the Statue of Liberty which helped save New York City when a haunted painting tried to take over the world. We shouldn't insult the French, but thank them for so much, mainly for their advancements in the art of kissing.
I don't think they even teach that in schools anymore. Now it's probably Washington pushing Cornwallis into the sea with the sheer awesomeness of his personality and making the British sue for unconditional surrender after George III wet himself.
Re: This entire thread.... Yanks, I don't know if you're just not getting it, or if you are being deliberately denser than duranium. He's not attacking your motivation, but the attitude that seems to be behind it. You try to boil down very, very, very complex ideas and ideals into one very simple thing, which you define as "fighting against tyranny" For instance, and just to pick one example, you fail to realize that the reasons behind fighting in WWI, WWII, and Korea are very complex, not just "We're fighting against tyranny". This is kind of like saying "We pay taxes because we have to fund the military". Yes it's a part of it, but compared to the whole picture, it is a very, very small part.
For some folks Veterans day, WWI and WWI, and the rest of the US crusade to make the world a better place for the rest of the poor folk of the world better than they were on their way to creating for themselves, is just o load of bullocks. Amazing and ungrateful, but what else can you expect from the unwashed masses.
Do people remember why it's 11/11? It used to be called Armistice Day. France lost over a million service members in that war. Likewise the British empire countries and Russia. The US lost over a hundred thousand, but a far smaller percentage of the population than the other allies. So whatever it's called, the day is not just about US veterans. As for those US veterans, they have as many and varied opinions on what is right or wrong or justified or unjustified about war and US involvement as the rest of the population. And they all deserve to be respected, thanked and honored for their service. So, thanks veterans!
http://sfdebris.com/videos/other/space21.php I like SF Debris's veterans day speech. Its the first two and a half minutes of the video.