when will we ever learn?

One hundred and fifty-eight years ago, the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization of Union Civil War veterans, established Decoration Day as a time to decorate the graves of those who died in that war with flowers. They picked May 30 because flowers would be in bloom in most of the United States at that time, an easy, ready and suitable tribute to lay upon a grave. Estimates are that as many as 850,000 people died in our own nation's Civil War. !!!!! Eventually Congress made Memorial Day a national holiday to honor all those who died in service to our county in any war. The modern proclamation calls on Americans "to observe Memorial Day by praying, according to their individual religious faith, for permanant peace." 

Do you think there will ever be a time when we do not fight wars? A time of permanent peace? Conflict does seem to be the human condition. Latest evidence is in Ukraine/Russia, 1,800,000 dead and injured; Israel/Gaza, 265,000; South Sudan, 150,000-400,000. And remember this: Casualties of war include those died but also those who are injured but live. Casualties? What a strange term. It derives from casus meaning chance or occasion. Just think about it. You’ve gone downtown for a routine errand, something you to every day, and suddenly you are a casualty. A chance. You are injured in the periphery of some politician’s war, some zealot’s mission, some mentally ill person’s action. In war, there are many casualties. A strange term we’ve come to accept.  

In front of my house, we have irises in bloom. They stand for faith, hope and wisdom. The brilliant Pete Seeger wrote "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" in 1955. It is a question that hasn't been answered yet. When will we ever learn? War is not the answer. It has never stopped. And it has never stopped anything. Will we ever learn that?

On this day of remembering those who have died at war, let's try to learn something. 

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5/25/2026