Today, as we swim and picnic, and do all those things that mean that summer is beginning, we also remember.

We remember all soldiers who died. But we forget the soldiers who live and our responsibility to them. And so too many of them don’t have what they need for re-entry; many don’t have the healthcare they need. We forget who started Memorial Day and why and so we allow racial injustice to continue. What’s that I say? Right, we don’t know the history. Why is there a memorial day? Because freed black slaves celebrated those who died for the cause of their freedom. This doesn’t really jibe with the revisionist notion that the Civil War was about states’ rights, does it. It keeps bringing things back to enslavement.

And even the spin on patriotism — we don’t question the sacrifices of young people and their families, we wonder why we keep making wars. What’s that you say, some wars are made for us? True. But others, were not.

I’m not a strategist. I’m not a perfect pacifist. But I believe in Peace. I believe we must prepare and study and plan for Peace. We must wage Peace.

And part of waging Peace is remembering those who died.

Today we remember. And in their names, we recommit to Peace. At our picnics today, as we remember those who died, let us talk about Peace.