Barbecue, Murph, and the Weight of War

Memorial Day is a bittersweet holiday for me.

My head is filled with the memories of friends taken too early. I re-experience different aspects of being in combat. I empathize in the true physiological sense with those across the world who are living in a violent hell.

That's the bitter.

The sweet is seeing a family play and laugh together without a care in the world. It's learning about those who have risen above their circumstances through effort and sacrifice. The container we enjoy in this country isn't perfect, it isn't equal, but just by being in it, we are enjoying a quality of life, of safety, of abundance, of freedom that 99.9999999% of all humans who have ever lived never knew.

And that’s the tension of Memorial Day: the ache of loss and the awe of what’s been made possible through that loss.

Remember that you didn’t create this. You were gifted this.
Freedom and liberty aren’t free. This civilization isn’t the natural state of the world. The natural world is violent and savage.

To whom much is given, much is to be expected.
We honor the fallen not by words, but by how we live. How we show up. How we serve others with what we've been given.

So enjoy the BBQ, run your Murph, give your thoughts and prayers. Then get to work ensuring you are an American worth fighting, dying, and killing for. 

It’s called “the service” because you don’t get to pick where you are sent and what missions you undertake. It’s a trust in your fellow citizens. It’s a subjugation of your own individual freedoms and best interests to an ideal. To the Constitution.

No one suffers more from war than the Soldier.
Don’t take their sacrifice for granted.
Live in a way that proves it was worth it.

De Oppresso Liber

-Sean