顯忠日/현충일 (Hyeonchoong-il/Memorial Day)

顯/현/hyeon     appear/reveal
忠/충/choong     loyalty/allegiance
日/일/il     day

顯忠/현충/hyeonchoong     memorial service

This past May 27th was Memorial Day in the States. Every June 6th is Hyeonchoong-il, Memorial Day here in South Korea. It's a day off for many of us when it lands on a weekday, but as in America and other Western countries, it's not really meant as a day of celebration, but rather as a day of mindful, solemn remembrance of all the brave souls who sacrificed their lives for the sake of their country and its fellow citizens. 

I'm rereading Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers right now, and I'm once again struck by the ethos of self-sacrifice that the book puts forward, even as others concentrate on what they see as the book's more fascistic overtones. If we reach the point where we see patriotism and nationalism as no different from fascism, then we truly are lost as a country. I fear we may already have tumbled over that cliff. It may already be too late to save ourselves.

The word country ought to have a deep resonance, and it ought to represent everything from family to friends to society to culture to history. Country is bigger than any one of us; it is the past, the present, and the future, and it's worth being proud of, not because we had any choice about where we were born, but because we belong to it and see it as that which, when healthy, nurtures and cultivates our posterity. 

Belonging to a country and loving a country both require commitment: it's a choice to remain a citizen—a choice you renew every day, consciously or not, and the renewal of that choice is also—or should be—a source of pride. If you don't feel ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for your country because you see it as deeply flawed or odious, then you have no place there and should leave immediately. Don't merely make noises about leaving: leave. 

Brave people died to preserve the nation you're a part of; you should at the very least appreciate that fact. So have a mindful Memorial Day.

This is the post I should have written on May 27th. Sorry I'm late.