Memorial Day 2010

As today dawns, I remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that all Americans may continue to enjoy our unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. On this day I bless each one of you; may God hold you close and shield you from the pain of seeing those who would now trade those rights for little more than promises of the unearned fruits of another’s labors and so again become the slaves of tyranny. By your example and in your names I pray that we may find the strength to say no to all that threatens America’s freedoms and to continue the fight for liberty and justice for all.

Today we look back and embrace again the original meaning given to this day: the spirit of redemptive sacrifice. We must renew our pledge to American ideals and remember American exceptionalism and our duty to uphold freedom in the world.

For it is rivers of red blood that once ran across American soil and those same sacrifices made by Americans all over the world that allow us to take today off from work, host a barbeque, and watch the Indianapolis 500. Those rivers of red American blood are what allow some to get drunk and make a fool out of themselves in public and some to just make fools out of themselves in public – today or any other day.

For this, though some of us never forget, today we honor you.