I guess I really should write. Today President Obama challenged us to respond to “the legacies of an unbroken chain of proud men and women who served their country with honor; who waged war so that we might know peace; who braved hardship so that we might know opportunity; who paid the ultimate price so we might know freedom.” He asked that we “commit to give something back to this nation–something lasting–in their memory; to affirm in our own lives and advance around the world those enduring ideals of justice, equality, and opportunity for which they and so many generations of Americans have given that last full measure of devotion.”
Indeed. As I’m sure I’ve written Dad died as a result of a cancer that is linked to his exposure to Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam. So linked that his death was considered service related and Mom got some extra benefits as a result, eventually. Pat asked me after Dad died if I was doing anything sort of in response to Dad’s death. I told her no back then, but I certainly was thinking about his starting pro-reconciliation interracial discussion groups in Muncie, Indiana when I proposed Chalice Christian Justice Ministries. (We’re having a symposium in October, BTW, so it is going to be more than attending demonstrations.)
Obama’s relentless calling us to action mixes well with remembering Dad. He was a man of action.
Just to continue the stream of consciousness half-thoughts format here, I am realizing that Dad dying so close to Memorial Day guarantees me an extended period of thinking about him every year. Which is not a bad thing.
2 replies on “Memorial Day”
pro-reconciliation interracial discussion groups
What are these?
They were discussion groups that included both Whites and Blacks. I have the impression they were something like 20 people or so. They talked about the race relation problems in the county and then they had a project to promote reconciliation.
I don’t know too much about them, but one of the projects was to raise money so the hair-styling class at the vo-tech high school would have equipment to style Black women’s hair, too. (Initially, they only had the tools to style White women’s hair.
Stuff like that.