A sacrifice made in vain?
I visited a cemetery on Memorial Day. Hundreds of American flags, 2 feet high, blanketed the hillsides. Fluttering in the spring breeze, they marked the graves of veterans-both those who had died in combat and those who had served and come home to live for many more years.
I walked among the graves, struck by the number of dead who had served in some capacity in World War II. I talked with a woman laying flowers at the grave of her parents. Her father was a World War II veteran. He was one of the lucky ones. He had come home. He and his wife worked and raised a family. They were ordinary Americans-the kind who are the foundation of our country.
Those ordinary Americans understood the threat of fascism and authoritarianism and stepped away from their humble lives to protect freedom and democracy. They heroically met and defeated the most significant challenge of their day.
As I looked across the rows of fluttering flags, I wondered if those who fought and died in World War II made their sacrifice in vain. I wondered what they would think about children and grandchildren blithely voting away the freedoms and democracy they secured for us. If they would weep to see their beloved country embracing a wannabe dictator bringing fascism home to America.
Carolee Ketelaar
McMurray