Skip to main content

Always Remember; Never Forget

Always Remember.

Never Forget.

They say it so many times. So many different ways.

Remember the Alamo! Remember the Maine!

Pearl Harbor has melded into our hearts.

9/11 was imprinted on our souls.

Is it an event, a place, a memory?

Should we hold onto the pain, the sadness, the tragedy?

Is there salvation in loss, healing in agony?

Faces, names. I don’t even know them all.

What would they want me to remember?

The last seconds of life? The moment of death?

Burning embers of destruction.

That can’t be the truth. It’s not reality.

The meaning of such a phrase.

They say move on. Let it go. Don’t look back.

But never forget.

You can’t afford to repeat the past.

Because the meaning builds on the future.

The aftermath of embers is life. There is healing in pain.

There is hope in destruction.

Every life lived and lost is worth a better future.

We build that future. We become that hope.

Goodness. Unity. Strength. Love.

Death means something if only we learn.

Good souls lost are found in our goals.

We build on the past to strengthen the future.

We cling to the good to salve the wounds.

To see the potential in the face of our failures.

There is no failure in change. No defeat in hope.

Victory lives on in the strength of humanity.

It lives in the strength of our souls.

A united front. In God we trust. Patriotism from love.

We promise to learn. We promise to live.

Always remember.

Never Forget. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Integrity: the missing ingredient

There was one good thing about Gingrich's response to the opening question of the GOP debate in South Carolina. In his attempt to avoid the question, he provided the answer to it. It's simple really. He has absolutely no understanding of integrity. Or why it matters. Let’s try to clear it up for him. In a recent class I took at BYU, our professor pointed to studies on the relationship between the treatment of women and  the level of corruption within governments and societies. It was a fascinating study. And while the subject may be freely and continually researched, the point here is to lay the groundwork for the casual story. Ultimately, the degradation of the family unit, specifically in the treatment of women,  leads to degradation in our governing institutions. How? Because families are unique in their ability to instill certain values within us, even at an early age. Those who dishonor marital vows ( like through adultery, pornography, ect…) demonstrate a lack of se...
5 comments
Read more

Take a Knee or Stand Alone: It's not about Disrespect

U.S. Code: Title 36, Subtitle 1, Part A (a) Designation.— The composition consisting of the words and music known as the Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem. (b) Conduct During Playing.— During a rendition of the national anthem— (1) when the flag is displayed— (A) individuals in uniform should give the military salute at the first note of the anthem and maintain that position until the last note; (B ) members of the Armed Forces and veterans who are present but not in uniform may render the military salute in the manner provided for individuals in uniform; and (C) all other persons present should face the flag and stand at attention with their right hand over the heart, and men not in uniform, if applicable, should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart …. ( Pub. L. 105–225 , Aug. 12, 1998,  112 Stat. 1263 ;  Pub. L. 110–417 , [div. A], title V, § 595, Oct. 14, 2008,...
1 comment
Read more

Breaking-Down Stigmas: OCD does not make you Adrian Monk

"'My gift is obedience. Ella will always be obedient. Now stop crying, child.' I stopped." I have mentioned in my blog before how much I love the book Ella Enchanted. I don't care if it is fourth-grade reading level. Ella's battle with breaking the curse of obedience has long become a sort of allegory for my own frustration with OCD. The victorious feeling of winning that battle is something I glimpse and resonate with at the end of the book. "Decisions were a delight after the curse. I loved having the power to say yes or no, and refusing anything was a special pleasure." Oh, the sense of freedom that brings. And in its own, strange way - it's relatable. I read an article today about a woman who had such a strong, compulsive anxiety about driving, that she ended up not getting in her car for an entire year. it took professional diagnosis and treatment for her to begin overcoming that impulse. When asked something about why it took her so...
Post a Comment
Read more