Another Memorial Day has arrived and I want to urge all my American friends (and for all my friends from other countries, the same sentiments hold true for your own national days of remembrance) to take a few moments today to remember the meaning and the purpose of this day. We all have strong opinions about the politics behind the wars for which we ask our soldiers to fight, but today let the politics slide and remember the simple truth that our soldiers have always risen to the call and fought for our country when asked. This day is for them and not for politics. There are many, very simple ways to do this and given what we are acknowledging, a few moments from our day in remembrance and thanks is no hardship. As I’ve written before on this blog, I take some time read aloud two poems that I think capture the essence of Memorial Day. One is Walt Whitman’s “Song of the Banner at Daybreak” which espouses true patriotism. The second is Wilfred Owen’s “Soldier’s Dream” which, in its brief two stanzas, captures the horror of war (Wilfred Owen was killed while serving in World War I). My thanks, as inconsequential as they are, to those from all generations and all walks of life who have fought and died for our country.

It’s not secret that I’m not a big fan of giving up our civil liberties or the rights afforded us by the Constitution for a sense of security, often a false sense of a security. But one of the biggest problems arguing against the various abuses of our privacy by the current Bush administration has been the belief many people have that “only the bad people will be affected”. It’s this willful ignorance and willingness to turn a blind eye that allows governments to take advantage of their citizenry. For those of you who believe this way, I urge you to watch the recent Frontline show entitled: Spying on the Home Front. You can even watch it online at PBS.org. After you’re done and you’ve got that sick feeling in your gut that occurs when you realize that you’ve been betraying the ideals, indeed the very foundations of your nation out of sheer laziness and fear, take a moment to do something simple: join the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an organization that is fighting to protect our privacy in this new, digital age where the old rules are being ignored and new ones have not yet been made.