May 30, 2022

Memorial Day rememberance

Topic: Events

by Pete Hanebutt, NDFB Public Policy Director

The American Civil War ended 157 years ago with CSA General Simon Bolivar Buckner surrendering the Army of the Trans-Mississippi, the last legitimate fighting force in the confederacy. Coincidentally, General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. died about 80 years later, during World War 2, on Okinawa, fighting for the Stars and Stripes and a reunited United States. It’s important over the Memorial Day weekend to honor all those who gave their lives defending our freedom. From the original patriots to our current day sailors and warriors, the cost of freedom has always been high, and yet there have always been individuals willing to serve and sacrifice. And loved ones left at home to preserver.

It’s also important in this even numbered year, and other election years, to remember, despite political differences, we haven’t witnessed a hot civil war in this country since 1865. We may not always see eye-to-eye, and our politics get very heated at times, but we haven’t resorted to the types of measures which are common in other parts of the world. Political turmoil seems to be the rule elsewhere, and we have been blessed in America to have not traveled that road for quite some time. We often disagree with the results at the ballot box, and there may even be charges of corruption or election fraud from time to time, but we have had a fairly orderly change in power during all of our lives. There may have been fraud at the local or national level throughout our country’s history, but how would we ever really know?

What is vitally important is that our country remains governed by law and rules, rather than following a certain leader. “A Government of Laws and Not Men,” was a phrase coined before our revolution in 1776, and it should still ring true today. Following the personality cult of certain dictators has never proven wise, and neither has a devotion to a single political ideology, as the communists and socialists falsely believe.

The United States of America is still the greatest place in the world because we are a republic, made up of a government composed of our many parts, where the voters are represented by those elected to serve. We may not like someone from San Francisco leading Congress, but after the next election the balance of power may change – peacefully, and without a civil war.

This Memorial Day, I hope all Americans reflect on the price of freedom, and the orderly way in which power in America has transferred since 1865.