Friends,

On Memorial Day we remember those who have died for their country.  We appropriately focus our lens of gratitude upon them for their extraordinary sacrifices.

In this country that sacrifice is extraordinary.  For millennia, people have killed and died for their countries.  A sense of team, clan, nation has called them, bound them, and fueled them.

This country has been different.*  For unlike the vast majority of nations down through history, it is we who declare the wars, fight the wars.  Declared not by czars, dictators, kings, popes, or emperors, but by a President and a Congress, elected by and highly attuned to the will of the people.  We do our representative democracy imperfectly, and the ultimate cost remembered on Memorial Day reminds us that our participation is vital.  The blood is not only on the hands of a king.

The physical cost of war is borne by a relative few.  The moral cost borne by all.  And, so Memorial Day calls us to act morally and politically in ways our minds and consciences call us -- to continually make this nation worth fighting for.  That worth -- history cannot give us; instead, we must earn it in every present age.  Citizenship, like military service, has a cost.
Meanwhile, we should all give thanks in this same present moment for the men and women who represent this country.  In this era we have remembered something we forgot in the 1960s.  Our men and women serve completely, unambiguously, totally right and clear.  That is sacrifice enough.  They should never have to bear the sacrifice of being questioned for a war that is our responsibility.  Their physical share in the costs of war is telescopically large.  Their moral share for our war is microscopically small.  That, we must remember not to forget.

Thanks,

Dan

*Our history has been different, although not altogether unique.  The Greeks, for instance, had their experiments with democracy some 23 centuries before us.  And others, like Native American tribes, have participated in highly inclusive forms of decision making.  Our written constitution, rule of law, and 225 year history certainly distinguish us.

If you have received this forwarded from a friend or coworker, and would prefer to receive it directly, you may sign up for your own copy by sending a note to FirstGentleman@Michigan.gov.  RFL is distributed without charge.  To unsubscribe, write unsubscribe in the subject line and send to the same address.

Daniel Granholm Mulhern
First Gentleman
Office of the Governor
State of Michigan
(517) 241-0534

"Seeing the magnificence in all people -- dedicated to their fullest success."

Copyright 2004 Daniel Mulhern.  I distribute RFL without charge to friends, clients, and others with an interest in leadership, and grant permission to these recipients to distribute copies of these works to personal contacts for non-commercial purposes only.  All other rights are reserved, and requests for copying and distribution of these works may be made to FirstGentleman@Michigan.gov.  The views of this and other RFLs reflect my personal beliefs and may or may not reflect the views of my wife, Jennifer Granholm, or any other officials of the State government.