Memorial Day, 2018
I think it's worth honoring this day not only those who gave their lives, but also that which would compel a person to serve in the first place.
And this is an idea, enshrined in our constitution, that each and every person matters, that each voice be allowed to speak, and that we, all of us, are adult enough to be able to bear the thoughts and ideas of others, that the worst that will happen is that we will learn something.
They died that we may be free, that we may have the opportunity to take responsibility for our own lives, that we may invent, and grow, and pray, and play, and be ourselves.
And we may remember too that we made mistakes along the way, that people died and suffered who didn't need to, that people still do. But this doesn't dim the vision.
We are human. We are not perfect. But we do hold to a vision, to an ideal, to the notion that striving for it is worth our while and our lives.
And it is the men and women who have served that made this life and the near limitless opportunity before us possible.
Thank You. May we live our lives so as to honor what you have bequeathed us.
