As Memorial Day dawns and I am preparing for a full day steeped in the venerable old American tradition of lawn improvement, I realize that this is a national holiday about which I know very little. So, in the spirit of practicing what I preach, I offer a quick review of some of the learning opportunities that are out there.

First stop, of course, Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day.
Here you will find good basic information, all of which seems to be accurate (based on continued searching). For instance,

• Memorial Day is always observed on the last Monday in May
• It was originally called Decoration Day
• It was first intended to honor the Union dead, but was expanded post-World I to cover those who have died in any war or military action
• My personal favorite—it has shared the calendar with the Indy 500 since 1911.

Of course, as the upstart communal encyclopedia cum Institution notes, this posting currently cites no references. So, caveat learner. Some enterprising reader might want to log in to Wikipedia and provide the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs Memorial Day site as a reference or source for the Wikipedia entry.

For a glimpse at the level of Memorial Day knowledge we might expect from the upcoming generation, I took a look at the array of K-12 lesson plans available out there on sites like EducationWorld, Lesson Planet, and the intriguing Patriotism.org site run by the Miami-Dade Public Schools.

Finally, in search of more dynamic content, I visited the History Channel’s History.com
Memorial Day site where it is possible to review a range of Veterans’ Experience videos. So far this all pretty standard, patriotic stuff. A stop at YouTube, however, reminded me that—particularly in a time of war—Memorial Day can be a highly politicized holiday. Some of the reactions to this particular video deserve a PG-13 or even R-rating, though the fact that they are out there, uncensored, is bound to warm the democratic hearts of some percentage of users.

f you are not sure whether they warm your heart of not, you might want to visit the Political Compass to assess your political leanings. Whatever your leanings might be—whether you think military deaths are needless, patriotic, or just aren’t sure—it is hard to argue with taking some time one day a year to remember those who have died.

Happy Memorial Day.

JTC

Related posts:

1. A Little Halloween History
2. E-learn Your Political Leanings