On the 75th Anniversary of D-Day, the governmental elites, the ordinary folks, and most especially the remaining living soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy so long ago, gathered on that hallowed ground to remember. Who cannot stand stunned at the enormity of what the Allies accomplished? I’ll tell you who–most of us. The notion of Valor has faded in our consciousness. What boys of 20 years did decades ago seems impossible to replicate now. Heroism is left to Hollywood movies, spy novels, and old men’s tales. What must have gone through those soldiers’ minds as they approached that beach, knowing that they had a good chance to die?
Take a look at some of the old photos. Priests giving communion to men on the beach under enemy fire. Tremendous acts of bravery to free a world from the most awful tyranny yet known to humanity. Boats disgorging combat troops cut down immediately on the sands by a losing enemy who would not admit defeat for another year. Could we rise now, like those heroes of old, to defend freedom?
Probably not. The discourse in our country is shallow, hateful, and self-serving. We accept new “values” that destroy human dignity, cheapen human life, disrespect individuals. How do we ever enable the better angels of our nature to come to the surface of our human consciousness again?
By remembering. Memory is not just the domain of the old. It can remind us of what we are capable of doing. So take some time to look at old pictures of a war nearly forgotten, and to watch a little television today to see the heroes of that battle still among us remember their comrades. Witness those soldiers receive the accolades of a world still tinged by conscience to honor them. It won’t hurt to do this, and it may water the seeds of such courage in ourselves. For every age must have heroes arise to defend freedom and human dignity. Each battle will be different, but the effort must be the same. We have to be willing to die, so that others might live.
‘COWARDS DIE MANY TIMES BEFORE THEIR DEATHS, BUT THE VALIANT TASTE OF DEATH BUT ONCE.’ –william shakespeare
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