Well, there goes that opportunity for a protest vote.

[guest post by JVW]

In a year which has seen a great deal of sniping back-and-forth, both inter-party and intra-party, this is a day to pause and remember those who have nobly sacrificed on behalf of us all. The observance of the holiday dates back to the end of our Civil War, when freshly-bloomed spring flowers would be placed upon the graves of fallen soldiers. May 30 was chosen as the first officially recognized “Decoration Day” by a Union Army Veteran’s group, largely because May 30 was not the anniversary date of any particularly memorable battle and was thus neutral, though many Southern states continued to observe different dates for honoring their war dead.

After the First World War most states adopted May 30 as the official date and the Decoration Day holiday gradually became known as Memorial Day. In 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which permanently placed Memorial Day on the final Monday in May. Though it has also come to signify the beginning of summer and the end of the school year (when I was growing up, the high schools in my town held graduation on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend), and though it has been crassly co-opted by Memorial Day sales, running races, golf tournaments, swimming pool openings, and merchandising opportunities for Major League Baseball, it is nevertheless an appropriate moment to pause and reflect on those who have made the supreme sacrifice in service of our country.

If you would like to remember a fallen family member or friend, please feel free to do so in the comments.

– JVW