Garfield

  Today being memorial day I am reminded of those that died in defending freedom. I recall my grandparents calling this decoration day. I also fondly remember the selling of those little cloth poppies. My Mom bought at least one every year. I had one for quite a few years but has been lost somewhere. I haven't seen anyone offering them in a few years. I'm quite certain if I were to go to a larger metropolis I could find them. When I was a kid they were mostly sold at the parade, Greensboro has no Memorial day parade. We don't even have a Veterans post anymore. But, all that being said, I have put up my bunting and my flag flies proudly from my porch. My porch being upstairs, on the second floor, whenever I put the bunting up I feel like giving a speech! And with that in mind I was thinking about the great patriotic speeches of the past. Seems like the those old orators spoke far better than what is offered today. Those folks stirred the soul! I have included on a few occasions, some of those in my blogs, especially James Garfield, 20th President of the United States, the last president born in a log cabin and the only president that was also an ordained minister. He was shot and killed in 1881. 

 I bring that up as a prelude to this observation of mine. I wanted to read his Decoration day speech at Arlington National Cemetery. On May 30,1868 he dedicated that ground. The thing is my memory isn't as great as I wished it was and I wanted to be sure I had the words right so to Google I went. I began typing in the search block, Garfield, and what pops up, a cartoon cat! Yes, Garfield the cat was the very first result. I can only assume that is the "predictive" function of Google. What that means is far more people have searched for Garfield the cat than they have for the twentieth president of the United States. That sheds a bit of light on the state of affairs in this country, at least, in my opinion it does. Several Presidents have not gone to Arlington on Memorial day. For various reasons Reagan, both Bush's, Obama, Eisenhower and Kennedy all missed the wreath laying ceremonies. Personally I find that there should be no reason they shouldn't be there! Memorial Day is no ordinary holiday, no celebration, it is a solemn occasion and should be given its' just reverence. 

 I continued to type in the information I was looking for. I have copied a portion of President Garfields' address and include it here for you to read. The actual speech is quite a bit longer, as politicians do have a way of expounding on a theme, but this is my favorite part. I hope you take the time to read these words. I find myself totally inadequate to the task of penning any such words. President Garfield however was not. 

 I am oppressed with a sense of the impropriety of uttering words on this occasion. If silence is ever golden, it must be here, beside the graves of fifteen thousand men, whose lives were more significant than speech, and whose death was a poem, the music of which can never be sung. With words we make promises, plight faith, praise virtue. Promises may not be kept, plighted faith may be broken, and vaunted virtue be only the cunning mask of vice. We do not know one promise these men made, one pledge they gave, one word they spoke: but we do know they summed up and perfected, by one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and citizens. For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.

Today there are over 400,000 graves in Arlington!