Today is Memorial Day, when we honor the sacrifices of armed forces members past and present. They deserve our due respect and recognition on such an important day. But Memorial Day also means much for each of us citizens. After all, we make the decisions - however wise - to send the armed forces to places across the globe. Iraq and Afghanistan are not merely distant campaigns in another continent, but issues very much political and civil. That is why each of us need to re-examine ourselves to make sure the armed forces and the victims of wars have not died in vain.
I recently read a book about the legal profession and the authors' three virtues for the next generation of lawyers: competency, responsiveness, and honesty. Responsiveness should for a virtue for all of us, whether or not we aspire to be or are lawyers. It means keeping informed of the world and engaging actively to solve the world's problems. For each of us, it may be a tall order. In particular, the world's problems seem more immense than ever: the acrimonious politics before the midterm elections, the BP oil spill, impending conflict on the Korean peninsula, the European financial crisis, continuing skirmishes in the Palestine, tensions over immigration policy and the gargantuan problem of climate change are among the few. These problems will not go away, nor should each of us entrust them to politicians and experts. It is up of each of us to contribute our part to understanding the problems and providing solutions.
Thus, resolve to 1) educate ourselves through a critical spectrum about the problems that befall us and 2) evaluate and effect solutions that are wise for public policy and practicable through our individual means. Those who sacrificed for our freedoms demand no less from each of us.
10:00 - Floral Park parade and ceremony
12:30 - Garden City fair and concert
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