Rant #2,414: Remember

The calendar, even during a pandemic, has holidays, days that are set aside to remember, to honor, to give kudos to certain people and certain moments in our lives.

We have one coming up on Monday, and it is Memorial Day,

Normally, it is a well-earned day off for most of us, a day of both fun and frolic, mixed in with remembrances of what the holiday actually means.

This year, the holiday is certainly clouded over by this mess that we are in,

This scourge is preventing our usual actions during the holiday, including holding parades, getting together with family, and in certain instances, going to the beach and barbecuing.

But the one thing that continues to stand out is the true meaning of the holiday, pandemic or no pandemic.

Let's go back to Rant #1,444, dated May 22, 2015, and read the words that I wrote five years ago once again, because they seem to have extra meaning during this period where we are battling the coronavirus:

"Memorial Day is the federal holiday honoring those Americans who have died fighting in wars and conflicts our country has been in.

But does anyone really think about that when they are flipping the burgers on the barbecue?

Memorial Day might be a "memorial" day for these brave Americans, but how many of us really think about that while we are relaxing that day?

But the ultimate sacrifices these men and women made actually allow us to sit on the chaise lounge and take in the sun and the hot dogs.

Our way of life is assured by the actions of our military, who often fight in unpopular battles but do what the have to do to make sure that we are free.

I know that it seems so elementary, but these men and women are our real heroes, the people who do the dirty work so we all can be free.

With our very existence threatened by those people and countries who are jealous of our way of life, and the constant struggles we have in every day life to begin with, a day like Memorial Day should be savored, because a lot goes in to having a life like we have.

Sure, it is not perfect, but is there anywhere else where so many freedoms that we have are enjoyed?"

Yes, the holiday remains the same as things are changing around us.

Our freedoms are not what they once were, because the existence of this scourge has forced us all to pull back quite a bit on the things we love to do.

Some might say pull back too much, and I say that there has to be a common middle ground that we all can agree to.

Have we gone overboard in our attempts to ward off this virus?

Yes, I think we have, but with good reason.

But we cannot continue to do things the way we have been doing them the past two-plus months.

We have to open up, smartly, the world which has been closed down so abruptly. It can be done, but it must be done with some type of smartness attached to it. You just can't open up the world again and make believe that this thing never happened.

In our country, states are opening up, often haphazardly, so of course there is going to be a spike in cases. Even if we open up smartly, people are going to get this disease because it spreads so rapidly.

But we have to take those chances, because if we go any longer like we are right now, the very foundations that Memorial Day reminds us of, that those service people lost their lives about, will be gone forever.

As it is, they are seemingly going to be changed forever, but "changed" and "gone" are two very different things.

Maybe scientists will develop a cure for this thing, maybe they will develop something that can lessen its effects. But in the meantime, we must open our world up again, and not wait for these things to be formulated.

We have done it with the various flus that we have had for decades. Life did not stop because we didn't have a serum to fight this disease.

And yes, people got it, some people got sick from it, and others died from it.

It is a terrible thing, but we have to take those chances once again.

We can no longer put a hold on "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," and we must move on from this, as best we can.

Have a great weekend, a great Memorial Day, and I will speak to you again on Tuesday.

And continue to keep safe.