What is the first thing that goes though your mind when you hear the words Memorial Day? What does it mean to you? What symbolization does it hold in you? Ladies and gentlemen, sadly enough, the true meaning of Memorial Day has been seemingly lost by the majority of Americans today. Many confuse this day for Veterans Day or even Armed Forces Day. Although it is highly appropriate to honor all our veterans, living and dead, and to recognize their immeasurable contributions to our country, this is not the true meaning of Memorial Day. When I asked you what the day means to you…what is symbolized to you, what went through you mind? Did you simply think of it as another federal holiday? A 3-day weekend? The beginning of the 100 days of Summer…a BBQ? Or did you think of a mother running a finger over her son's name on the Vietnam Wall…or possibly the brave marines raising the flag on top of the mountain in Iwo Jima…..or did you simply think of all the sacrifices that have been made by the brave men and women that allow us to enjoy the freedoms and liberties we enjoy today. For those of you who did indeed think of the men and women who paid the ultimate price by giving their life for a cause greater than their own, then I will tell you that you are spot on. For those of you whose initial thought was not that of the sacrifices made, well, sit back and let me remind you why we should embrace this day….to hold this day dear to our hearts. When you leave here today I will hope that you will take with you a new and renewed sense of patriotism for this day. I will ask you to teach our children and reeducate all Americans on its true meaning. I will ask that each of you ENSURE THAT PROPER RESPECT is given to those who have given all they could possibly give in their service to this incredible country. It is through their sacrifice……that we may enjoy the freedoms we have today. CAN ANYONE TELL ME why is it that many Americans are so blind and deaf to the sights and sounds of our fallen patriots? Why do they not let freedom scream in their ears and in their minds and remember? Is it simply human nature? Let’s discuss how human nature can affect our thoughts and examine why our brave men and women choose to fight.
We are all aware that it is human nature to avoid the unpleasant is natural, we have an OBLIGATION to remember….to remember the price others have paid for our f...
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...he possibility that maybe it is simply human nature to avoid the unpleasant and people simply choose not to remember. I have also relayed a few reasons why we DO choose to fight when called upon. WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT THIS DAY IS GIVEN THE RESPECT IT SO RIGHTFULLY DESERVES. Show your respect to the men and women who fought to their last dying breath for a cause greater than their own…..by giving all that they had, all that they were, and all they were ever going to be, in exchange for our freedom. THE FREEDOM WE ENJOY TODAY WAS PURCHASED WITH THE BLOOD OF THESE FALLEN PATRIOTS. Do not let those sacrifices be forgotten. Ask yourself…are they not worthy to remember? WE MUST CHOOSE TO REMEMBER THE PAST, because the payment for forgetting is high…AND WE CANNOT AFFORD TO FORGET SUCH AN EXPENSIVE LESSON. Embrace this day, TEACH your children and EDUCATE other Americans its true meaning. REMEMBER, for a brief moment in history, our fallen heroes held our nation's destiny in their hands — and did not fail us. We must not fail them now. Let us together put the memorial back into Memorial Day!!! God bless these patriots and all who have fallen and god bless the United States of America…..
"After Mexico gained it's independence from Spain in 1821, it faced internal power struggles that left it in a volatile state of rebellion and instability for years." In 1846, the Mexican government, under the dictator Santa Anna, went to war with the United States. As an outcome of that war, Mexico lost a large amount of land--the land we now know as Texas. In 1854, Juan Alvarez and his troops led a successful revolt to drive Santa Anna out of power. One of Alvarez's strongest supporters was a man by the name of Benito Juarez, a Zapotec Indian leader. In 1855, Juarez became the minister of Justice under the new regime and issued two new controversial laws. One denied the right of the church and military courts to try civilian cases and the other made the sale and distribution of church lands legal. Many people disagreed with these laws and for three years a civil war raged between the two sides. In 1861 Juarez took control of the capital, Mexico City, and put his new Constitution into effect. Not only had Juarez's laws split the country, they had caused the civil war that left Juarez in debt to Spain, England, and France. The three countries were concerned about the debt, so they held a meeting in London, at which Spain and Britain decided to waive the debt in exchange for military control of the Custom House in Vera Cruz. France did not agree to these terms and invaded Mexico in 1861 in hopes of defeating the country and disposing of Juarez. The French troops--deemed among the best trained and equipped in the world--marched into the city of Puebla on May 5, 1862, expecting no resistance. The French army consisted of 6,000 men under the command of Marshal Lorencz. The French were met by an armed force of 2,000 peasants under the command of General Ignacio Zaragoza. The Mexican guerilla forces successfully defended their positions and attacked and drove back the French forces. Victory, however, was short lived. Within a year, France had successfully conquered Puebla and the rest of Mexico, and went on ruling there until 1867 when Juarez was once again restored to power. He ruled the country until his death in 1872. Cinco de Mayo, therefore, does not celebrate Mexico's independence, rather it symbolizes "the right of the people to self determination and national sovereignty, and the ability of non-Europeans to defend those rights against modern military organizations.
The 5th of May is not Mexican Independence Day, but it should be! And Cinco de Mayo is not an American holiday, but it should be. Mexico declared its independence from mother Spain on midnight, the 15th of September, 1810. And it took 11 years before the first Spanish soldiers were told and forced to leave Mexico.
Our veterans helped make our country the best country, which is known for fact.Today, because of our veterans I’m proud to say that every citizen has the right to speak and share their voice no matter what their race is. In some countries, there are still racial conflicts and all races.I am also proud to say that every child in America,no matter what their race is, they can have a free education. Most children in other countries are not allowed to go to school because they can’t afford it instead, they go to work
When you look into veterans eyes, you can see several things that are important. The pride shines through, the pride of serving ones country, and the dedication to protect other peoples freedom even it if requires paying the ultimate price. These men and women give their lives to give us our freedom. As a one of the many individuals that they are protecting it is vital that we see that pride and appreciate where it comes from.
America’s veterans should be honored because they have suffered through so many hardships that others could not and have not survived, and they did it for their country that they loved and still love today.
I chose the easy route of interview my grandpa (Dean Randel) who served in World War II as flight deck operator that signaled the aircrafts and got them ready for flight. He was station in San Diego on the USS Wisconsin which was of course a aircraft carrier. As I grew up he always told me stories of the good times he had with buddies and just living the good life. This is a first for me to sit down one on one with him and hear about what went on. Before I could even get a word in my grandpa ask me, “Do you know how Veterans Day was brought about?” I was so shock he was into doing this that I just shut my mouth and listened. He continued by saying in 1921, an American soldier -his name "known but to God "-was buried on a Virginia hillside overlooking the Potomac River and the city of Washington, DC. The burial site of this unknown World War I soldier in Arlington National Cemetery symbolized dignity and pride for all American veterans. Similar ceremonies occurred earlier in England and France, where an "unknown soldier” was buried in each nation’s highest place of honor (I later researched and found out it was in England, Westminster Abbey; in France, the Arc de Triomphe). These memorial gestures all took place on November 11, giving universal recognition to the celebrated ending of World War I hostilities at 11 a.m., November 11, 1918 (the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month). The day became known as "Armistice Day.”Armistice Day of...
The pain from the childhood, the betraying of lover, countless secrets are settling during the period of life, which can absolutely not be shared and understood by others. Are we gradually becoming the dead man? To be kind of people who are rather sensitive especially, the only way to encourage them remain on the world is to kill some of their nerve and pretend to be as happy as others. Nevertheless, when the secret sorrows are so many to hide, the sea of sorrow will drown them, but they always pretend to be happy.
Washington, DC is a spectacular place. This being my first time in DC, I was in awe of everything and all the historical places I encountered. The presence of the monuments and history is what made the capitol so magnificent. Having only read about the Lincoln memorial, I never had the chance to experience the sensation of being inside such an honorable place of importance. The imposing white marble walls of the memorial and the many people surrounding it could be seen from afar. Arriving at the location, an unknown feeling came over me. I was experiencing history in a whole different level. When I think about a memorial, the term remembrance comes to mind. Seeing the statue of Abraham Lincoln brought pieces of memories from history class and evoked thoughts of what it might have felt like to be in his shoes. I was astonished by the statue’s enormousness and how grand Abraham Lincoln looked in his chair. The size of the statue compared to pictures from books and elsewhere was surreal. Abraham Lincoln was a very “powerful and prominent individual” in the history of our nation, the statue’s design and size reflected upon that. Looking around me, I wanted to know what the others thoughts were on seeing his statue and how they felt in that building. I finally had the courage to ask one or two people what they thought; they all had the same appreciation as me. Hearing about an important person or learning about them in a history book gives you vast knowledge but it doesn’t evoke the feeling of utter appreciation as the memorial does. When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, many people wanted to build a memorial in honor of him. They wanted to be able to show how important he was to shaping our nation and to “honor his existence”. Ce...
No one knows the exact date of when the first prosthetic was made. There has been evidence of two toes belonging to Egyptian Mummies (Berko para. 4). There has also been written evidence that in 500 B.C., a prisoner cut off his foot to escape and his foot was replaced with a wooden foot (Bells para 1). A copper and wooden leg was dug up in 1858 at Capri, Italy and it dates back to 300 B.C (Bells para 1). There has been historical evidence that a general lost his right hand in the Second Punic War, and they made him an iron hand so he could keep fighting (Clements para 5). As you can tell from this evidence, prosthetics were made out of wood, copper, and other metals. They were not nice, but they allowed people just to do everyday things.
Domestic violence is a major problem in the United States. When most people think of domestic violence, they think of one person beating the other person in a relationship. Webster defines domestic violence as “the inflicting of physical injury by one family or household member on another.” Domestic violence has a major effect on children. Some people say that the violence has no effect, while others argue that the violence has a negative effect on children. Domestic violence scars children for the rest of their lives. Once children witness the act of violence, they are more likely to have problems throughout the rest of their lives. Domestic Violence has a negative effect on the way children behave, the way they learn, the careers they choose,
According to research, 275 million children are annually exposed to domestic violence around the world (Miller et al., 2012). Ghasemi (2009), Martinez et al. (2009), and Owen et al. (2009) suggested that children exposed to domestic violence could experience a variety of internalizing and externalizing problems that can lead to negative outcomes. Internalizing problems such as anxiety and depression are commonly observed in children who are living with domestic violence (Moylan et al., 2009; Owen et al. (2009). Further, cognitive development can be affected by children’s exposure to domestic violence (Thornton, 2014; Graham-Bermann et al., 2010). Trauma symptoms can be developed early in life when children are exposed to violence at home (Martinez-Torteya et al., 2009). Moreover, children feel that the violent incidents are their fault and they blame themselves (Ghasemi, 2009; Owen et al., 2009). For instance, children tend to forget the domestic violence occurrence or express emotions though play to deal with the domestic violence events (Georgsson et al., 2011). Research illustrated that children are likely to develop physical problems such as bedwetting and sleep problems when exposed to violent acts (Thornton, 2014; Ghasemi, 2009). Likewise, physical development can be delayed and impacted because of domestic violence (Thornton, 2014; Ghasemi, 2009). Researchers found that children’s externalizing issues such as aggression, substance abuse, and inappropriate behavior at school are commonly observed in children that are impact with domestic violence (Ghasemi, 2009; Moylan et al., 2009; Owen et al., 2009). Additionally, children will display poor academic performance because of the reoccurring exposure to viol...
I stepped out of the chilly November air and into the warmth of my home. The first snowfall of the year had hit early in the morning, and the soft, powdery snow provided entertainment for hours. As I laid my furry mittens and warm hat on the bench to dry, I was immediately greeted with the rich scent of sweet apple pie, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, and the twenty-pound turkey my mother was preparing for our Thanksgiving feast.
Domestic Violence is a world-wide epidemic that has been affecting our families for centuries. In many countries, around the world, domestic violence is a way of life and is not considered an important matter nor a crime. Also, most cultures consider it customary due to ancient believes that women are inferior to men. Domestic violence have a tremendous effect on an individual’s mental health and psychological development; especially, when it has been experienced from early childhood through adolescence and adulthood. Children are often the most susceptible when a violent confrontation takes place; as they become a destined target when an argument is physically manifested. Children are defenseless
In BJ Millers TedTalk, “What Really Matters at the End of Life?” BJ Miller discusses on how we think on death and honor life. He speaks to the audience about how for the most people the scariest thing about death is not death itself, it is actually dying or suffering. The targeted audience is everyone in the world, because eventually everyone is going to die and everyone thinks about death. BJ 3 has big points in the article saying, Distinction between necessary and unnecessary suffering. Also by having a little ritual that helps with this shift in perspective. Another point is to lift and set our sights on well-being. We need to lift our sights, to set our sights on well-being, so that life and health and healthcare can become about making life more wonderful, rather than just less horrible.
Thus, story and memory remove humans from the horrible brevity of mortal life by bringing existence into a realm outside of time. Humans die, but through story their fellow humans can make them immortal. Even amidst life’s tragedies, stories allow us to transform what seems an unbearable reality into something deeply beautiful. And yet their power is not merely retrospective since stories impose moral responsibility on our every action. Forgetting, therefore, is among the worst evils; not only because of the “moral perversity” it permits, but also because of the meaning it denies.