Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, May 27, 2023

13

OPINION

Mountain Views-News Saturday, May 27, 2023 


MOUNTAIN 
VIEWS

NEWS

PUBLISHER/ EDITOR

Susan Henderson

PASADENA CITY 
EDITOR

Dean Lee 

PRODUCTION

SALES

Patricia Colonello

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John Aveny 

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Peter Lamendola

CONTRIBUTORS

Stuart Tolchin 

Audrey Swanson

Meghan Malooley

Mary Lou Caldwell

Kevin McGuire

Chris Leclerc

Dinah Chong Watkins

Howard Hays

Paul Carpenter

Kim Clymer-Kelley

Christopher Nyerges

Peter Dills 

Rich Johnson

Lori Ann Harris

Rev. James Snyder

Katie Hopkins

Deanne Davis

Despina Arouzman

Jeff Brown

Marc Garlett

Keely Toten

Dan Golden

Rebecca Wright

Hail Hamilton

Joan Schmidt

LaQuetta Shamblee

RICH JOHNSON 

NOW THAT’S 
RICH

STUART TOLCHIN

PUT THE LIGHTS ON


EXPECTATIONS

DECORATION 
DAY ERR 

MEMORIAL DAY

 Do many people know 
about the word disarmament 
or “mutual disarmament”? 
This means that everyone 
together throws down their 
guns. The noble war defending the Ukrainians 
from the takeover by the tyrannical Russians 
is described as a great historical necessity and 
worthy of the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands 
of the lives of Russian and Ukrainian young 
men. I wrote in January of 2020 that the desire 
of the Russian tyrant to invade the Ukraine was 
a sign of his weakness at home and that he was 
trying to forestall the coming inevitable end to 
his regime.

 Not many agreed with me. Instead all 
the news programs and social media preached 
the need to protect democracy and “the will 
of the people”. Please understand that I am a 
trained lawyer with a great interest in history 
and politics. My father and previous generations 
were born in the Ukraine which for most 
of its history was a part, a vital part, of the Russian 
Empire. Of course it is silly for me to consider 
myself a Russian or a Ukrainian. As my 
mother explained to me while I was in Elementary 
School and required to fill out a question on 
a form requesting “Nationality” she instructed 
me to write down Jewish—not only as a religion- 
but as a Nationality—because for a Jew what is 
meaningful is not the land you are standing on 
but rather the person that you are inside. Really 
that is about all I know about being Jewish, that 
and a remembered sentence that “compassion is 
the rudder that steers Judaism!”

 Does that mean I am more Jewish than 
I am American? For me that is a meaningless 
question because being Jewish includes being 
American and vice versa. They both mean caring 
about humanity and rationality and conciliation 
and getting along together. As far as I am 
concerned Christianity means the same thing--
-not competition but treating others as we wish 
to be treated ourselves. Today we are told that 
we have to defeat the enemy. One winner and 
the rest losers. Sorry folks, today the potential 
to destroy is within the capability of many 
“competing” losers.

 Global warming and the climate crisis 
present a frightening future that threatens every 
life. The world, and all of its major powers 
must lead the way to a safe, rational, humanitarian 
solution. Whether the process requires 
only democracies to work together is nonsense. 
It is the “will of the people” expressed or unexpressed 
to preserve ourselves and our planet. To 
me the very first thing is to eliminate guns and 
war. Why are guns needed? Sadly in the United 
States I often hear people say they need guns “to 
protect themselves”. They are so frightened that 
they cannot allow their young children to walk 
home from school unaccompanied. We are 
surrounded by news of mass shootings and deranged 
person killing schoolchildren and teachers. 
There is less talk about guns being used in 
domestic conflicts or in self-inflicted destruction 
and that is also increasingly common. It is 
all symptomatic of something having gone very 
wrong and of people’s expectations not being 
met.

 It seems to me that is the heart of the 
problem. What do people expect their lives to 
be? Everyone cannot be a movie star or a celebrity 
or a star athlete; nor can we be forever 
young and live our lives without conflict. Often, 
inevitably we fall out of love or feel betrayed or 
act in ways that we are ashamed. We fear our 
own inadequacy more than we fear other people.

 I feel the same problems exist globally. 
Putin fears his own weakness and in a completely 
ill-advised action decided to invade the 
Ukraine. Contrary to expectations one does not 
get stronger by attacking others. Health comes 
from within—both for individual people – and 
for nations. First no more wars which inevitably 
requires no more guns. I would love to live long 
enough to be a part of that disarmament. I do 
not expect to live that long---perhaps none of us 
will. But, I believe, it is a strengthening expectation 
we can share together. 

Are you all ready to celebrate Decoration 
Day? Oh, wait a minute… you might know 
this holiday by its newer name…Memorial 
Day. 

“Decoration Day” originated following the 
Civil War (1861-1865). It was named “Decoration 
Day”, because people would visit cemeteries 
and decorate the graves of fallen Civil 
War soldiers with flowers. 

After World War One, the holiday grew to 
celebrate fallen soldiers from every war. By 
the 1960s “Decoration Day” gave way to “Memorial 
Day”. In 1968 it became an official 
holiday (meant we get the day off). The holiday 
was changed from May 30th to always 
being on a Monday. Why? Three Day Weekends! 
Short vacations, picnics, parades, spend 
money.

Memorial Day also became the unofficial 
start of the summer season.

A small young boy was staring at a plaque on 
a church wall with a bunch of names on it. 
The boy asked a Pastor walking by who all 
these names were. The Pastor nodded and 
said, “They are the reason we have Memorial 
Day. They are those men who died in the 
service.”

The little boy then asked quietly, “The 9 
o’clock service or the 11 o’clock?”

I’ll set aside continuing down a humorous 
road any further this week and reflect on the 
contributions made by women and men who 
made the greatest sacrifice to protect and 
safeguard our right to live free.

“Patriotism is supporting your country all the 
time, and your government when it deserves 
it.” Mark Twain

“Those who have long enjoyed such privileges 
as we enjoy forget in time that men have died 
to win them.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Home of the free, because of the brave.” 
Unknown

“May we never forget freedom isn’t free.” 
Unknown

“If you want to thank a soldier, be the kind of 
American worth fighting for.” Unknown

“This nation will remain the land of the free 
only so long as it is the home of the brave.” 
Elmer Davis

“Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. 
It means a strong desire to live taking the 
form of readiness to die.” G. K. Chesterson

“American without her soldiers would be like 
God without His angels.” Claudia Pemberton

“Without memory, there is no culture. Without 
memory there would be no civilization, 
no future.” Elie Wisel

“There is nothing nobler than risking your 
life for your country.” Nick Lampson

And then there was a man, who probably was 
my first national hero. Not a perfect man. But 
like all of us, was flawed, and yet rose to meet 
the challenges of his obligations, which were 
substantial. And indeed, like those we celebrate 
each Memorial Day, he paid the ultimate 
price for his public service. He said,

“My fellow Americans, ask not what your 
country can do for you, ask what you can do 
for your country.” His name? John Kennedy!

I hope your Memorial Day is memorable! 
Love your family, your 
friends, your country 
and exercise the following 
Biblical encouragements 
known as the 
fruit of the Spirit. 

“Love, joy, peace, patience, 
kindness, generosity, 
faithfulness, gentleness, 
self-control.”

Self control? Yikes!

TOM PURCELL

A DAY TO HONOR OUR 
WAR DEAD


Every year, polls show that a large 
number of Americans don’t know 
why we celebrate Memorial Day.

According to People, a 2020 Onepoll 
survey found that fewer than 
half of the 2,000 people surveyed knew that the 
purpose of Memorial Day was not to honor those 
who served in the armed forces, but to honor those 
who gave their lives while they served.

Few Americans are aware that the original reason 
for Memorial Day dates back to the Civil War.

Originally called Decoration Day, its purpose was 
to remember the nearly 500,000 soldiers who died 
during that incredibly bloody conflict.

That large number becomes especially sobering 
when you realize that the Civil War claimed 
roughly half of the 1.1 million service members 
who gave their lives in all of our conflicts, according 
to the Department of Veteran Affairs and the 
Department of Defense.

Consider the cost of our other wars:

The American Revolution was a hard-fought battle, 
but our successful fight for freedom claimed 
fewer than 1% of the lives of service members than 
the Civil War claimed — about 6,800 lives.

World War I — the “war to end all wars” — took 
120,000 American service members. Regrettably, a 
lot more war was yet to come.

World War II — what many veterans of the great 
global conflict called “the Big One” — claimed approximately 
405,000 U.S. service members, mostly 
young people whose lives were just beginning to 
blossom.

The Korean War, in which my father served, 
claimed 34,000 U.S. service members — and it’s 
still not officially over.

The Vietnam War claimed 48,000 U.S. service 
members — again mostly claiming young lives. 
The pain and loss of that terrible war lingers for 
millions of families still.

The long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq cost the 
lives of nearly 7,000 service members.

It’s a number that would have been higher if not 
for considerable gains in medical technology that 
resulted in fewer battlefield deaths.

However, more than 52,000 U.S. service members 
were wounded in these conflicts and many are still 
suffering from both physical and mental disabilities 
— and higher than normal suicide rates.

We must never forget those who gave their lives 
serving the rest of us. But too many of us are forgetting 
to do just that.

PBS News Hour offers a partial explanation as to 
why.

During the Civil War, almost every American family 
suffered loss. The 500,000 Union and Confederate 
deaths accounted for about 2% to 2.5% of the 
total population.

During World War II, according to Census Bureau 
and Department of Defense data, about 12 percent 
of the total U.S. population were members of the 
armed forces — and everyone else at home was 
making sacrifices to support the war effort.

Today, however, fewer than 1% of our population 
serves or has served, which makes it easier for most 
of us to remain aloof from military actions.

But we should be aware. War really is hell and it 
should be the absolute last resort for our nation to 
take.

We must hold our political leaders to account and 
stop them from so willingly getting us into new 
conflicts that will result in more service members 
giving the ultimate sacrifice.

So before we focus on our Memorial Day weekend 
parades and picnics, we must remember to honor 
those who have given their lives for our country.

And we must never forget the true meaning of 

Memorial Day.

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Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com