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Elegy

 



They roll up in Buicks, Chevys, and the occasional Kia.  Gingerly, they ease themselves out of the car doors with a firm grip in case the arthritic hips or knees should give out at the last second.  Taking a deep breath, they walk through the gate and up the drive lined with small fluttering flags.  Birds chirp busily and laughter breaks out from a small cluster chatting under a bright green maple.  Down the block, someone starts up a lawnmower.

Today is the busiest day on my street.  Living adjacent to the local Catholic cemetery, family and friends have been visiting their honored veterans buried here.  Many are veterans themselves, and may be thinking ahead to a time when they rest here.  "Will anyone remember to visit me?  Will they still show the respect and courtesy we have exercised all these years?"

I think so.  Families still bring their children and share stories of foreign shores and oppressive heat, whether endured in humid jungles or searing deserts.  It seems impossible that anyone should have to protect America, only its values and freedoms.

Values and freedoms.  That is worth considering.  We went to war with ourselves a 170 years ago.  A people imported to boost our economy while convincing ourselves we were doing them a favor.  They didn't have a choice like my ancestors did.  They weren't lured by a promise of cheap land and religious freedom.  Freedom.  It makes sensible people take desperate measures.

Once they had established themselves in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, did they have concerns about those people left behind, soon to be consumed by bitter Germans who had suffered at the hands of WWI Allies as punishment for an attempt to conquer Europe?

Today I think about boys and girls in the late 1930s and 40s who listened to radio broadcasts about wars on other soils, wondering if it could ever spread to Wisconsin.  I feel uneasy, knowing that our affluence and sense of superiority has left us vulnerable to divisions and gaping inequalities.  I want what I have for everyone, and am comfortable with having less if it means we can stop the bickering and the bitterness.  

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I don't have the corner on this thing called living. Advice from well-meaning people is appreciated. The rest of you can just keep your traps shut.

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