Memorial Day Reminds Us: War Is Terrible, Costly. Sometimes Necessary

When Americans go to war, they are aware of the dangers that follow. However, they are also aware of the dangers of a brutal, unchallenged enemy. Without actually being thousands of miles from home – fighting a war that you really have no choice but to win, since losing could very well mean war finding its way from that foreign country to yours — it is impossible to comprehend the mental battles that must be fought; as well as the physical ones.

Every day, especially Memorial Day, the lives of those who have kept – and continue to keep — tyranny and war from finding its way over here must be remembered, since they have accomplished so much to protect a fragile form of government, a government that is governed by its citizens. We must also honor the families that will no longer celebrate Hanukkahs, Veterans’ Days, Easters, Thanksgivings, Passovers and Fourths of July with loved ones who have not returned home from those wars.

Sadly, as long as we face uncivilized enemies, ones that live and govern by the philosophy that the end justifies the means, there will be other wars. And just like in the past, we must be willing to defend not only ourselves, but also those Americans who will follow us.

Image: Horse-drawn caisson & limber with flag-draped coffin at Camp Nelson National Cemetery, Memorial Day 2010; author: Brian D. Padgett; Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license

Born in Chicago and raised in northwest suburban Cook County, Chuck Gruenwald developed an unfavorable opinion of machine politics quite early in life. In addition to cars, electronics, law enforcement, and politics, Chuck enjoys writing, and is also a horse racing fan. He has recently written op-eds for uncommonshow.com