#History. Decoration Day
Memorial Day on Steroids. Memorial Day might be an American holiday, but most Americans in our present woke culture are clueless about why their relatives spilled their blood.
Dr. Stephen Phinney | IOM America
Memorial Day might be an American holiday, but most Americans in our present woke culture are clueless about why their relatives spilled their blood for their freedom to refute such a celebration.
Originally known as Decoration Day. A day set aside to honor the men and women of multiple colors who died while serving in the United States military. While some will visit cemeteries and memorials, hold family gatherings honoring their heroes, and participate in parades – statistics reveal the lion’s share of citizens will refrain from honoring the dead and opt to barbecue some smoked chicken and drink boatloads of beer. One video survey notes that most Generation Z answered the question, What is Memorial Day, with The holiday that marks the beginning of the summer break. History truly has faded into a self-centered society!
The birthplace of this holiday began by citizens who felt the magnitude of the loss of lives during the Civil War, which ended in the spring of 1865. An unknown fact to our generation today – more lives were lost during this war than in any conflict in U.S. history. There were an estimated 1.5 million casualties reported.
Another not-so-known fact. The original group that commemorated the celebration was a group of formerly enslaved people in Charleston, South Carolina, less than a month after the Confederacy surrendered in 1865. Folks, that group was the African American people who were fresh out of slavery. The irony is that the descendants of this original group are the masses that are advocating to remove this holiday as a National Holiday.
By May 5, 1866, a town in New York, Waterloo, became the first to host a community-wide event to honor the fallen soldiers of the Civil War that brought freedom to the enslaved. It is known as the first white man’s celebration in honor of the black enslaved populous. Not long after this celebration, on May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, a white war veteran, organized a campaign to adopt a nationwide holiday titled Decoration Day. His words?
“The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land,”
On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Civil War soldiers buried there. Needless to say, it stuck. From that day forward, the tradition was established for our wounded nation. While it remained a voluntary celebration, it wasn’t until 1968 that our Congress voted on making it a National Holiday – with the addition of adding any and all conflicts where citizens gave their lives for the freedom of their country.
This single Congressional vote started an uprise within the white supremacy groups spread across the states, who gained a significant amount of power, the Ku Klux Klan. The results were the famous new civil war between whites and blacks, marked by the sixties. A mark, I might add, that has never been forgotten by most black citizens.
If you’re new to the politics behind the Civil War, to keep it basic, the war was started by a group of white supremacists who believed black people were not people; they were deformed humans originating from apes. Yes. It’s true. Slave owners thus believed they would be used as animals to pull their plows, work their fields, and cater to their every need. Since illusions only work in dreams, soon, their lie was disrobed by the people of the North. Many black people realized that the people living in the North viewed them as real people with the same potential for success as white people. Soon, black people began to migrate to the North secretively. Slave owners didn’t take this lightly. Quickly forming a militant force, the Confederacy was born. Eleven southern states seceded from the Union, forming the Confederate States of America. After being ready for war, the Civilian War of America began – all over the “rights” of wealthy white slave owners.
While President Lincoln is known foremost for being the leader to fight for the rights of civilians, without the talk of color, many citizens within our growing democracy stood up against this organized group of white supremacists. It was due to these civilians that begs the not-so-popular question. Who, or what group, was behind freeing the slaves? You have to dig deep into American history to find this answer. I did, and the group was organized under the banner of Christianity. Authentic Christians hidden within the walls of tiny little churches, farms, and residential communities formed a movement to defend God’s doctrine that all people are created equal. The small fellowship that Abraham Lincoln attended was one of these protesting Christian fellowships – a small Baptist church. In fact, Lincoln’s parents were known as “Hard Shell Baptists.” A group known for their immovable beliefs in protecting God, country, and its citizens. Basically, Calvinists on “steroids” with an attitude of defending God’s honor unto death. These are the roots of President Abraham Lincoln’s policies.
Your average American doesn’t realize that almost all wars and rumors of wars are based on Christians defending their freedoms. Even the latest civil war on wokism. Organically it is based on the “Hard Shell” beliefs of Christians versus the lukewarm beliefs of a Godless society. Civil wars change colors, but the issue is always the same – protecting God, the country, and its citizens.
Memorial Day is meaningless unless the citizens of the land of the free passionately desire to keep it free. Battling for your brother next to you in war is one thing. However, taking your last breath on the battlefield is all about God, your country, and the citizens you willingly lay your life down for. Since we can’t ask the dead what went through their minds moments before death, we can only go on the testimonies of those who came close, and there is a boatload of those that say, in the end, it is all about your standing with the living God, your family, and the country you decided to protect.
If you haven’t noticed, these three principles are fading within our youth today. God’s existence is questioned relentlessly. Family is no longer a priority for our children and grandchildren. And as for defending our country? Well, most are willing to hand that over to the highest bidder. If we don’t go back to defending our freedoms, soon, our country will morph into a Godless country that cannot define family, let alone define the Constitution, and our Bible, that formed her into a once great nation.
Memorial Day, for me, is far more than barbecuing a fatted chicken. Honestly, it is honoring all those who kept God, the country, and its citizens maintaining a Biblical perspective. I will go to my grave defending the freedoms noted in God’s Holy Word. While I bleed red, white, and blue, it is not what inspires me on this commemorative day. It is, however, in defending the freedom in offering the indwelling Life of Jesus Christ to a people born into slavery to God’s greatest enemy – Satan.
This year, it would behoove us to rethink the meaning behind the “why” we set aside one day out of a year to honor the sacrifices our relatives paid. It was costly. Think about the gallons of blood that were spilled on our homeland and fields abroad to protect our people – to keep them safe. In my book, one ounce of spilled blood is worth a moment of honor. Those who don’t understand this might need another battle to shake the foundation of their complacency.
Jesus spilled His blood for us. So that we could have freedom from the horrid slave owner, Satan, it was costly. Painful. It was the greatest act of compassion God the Father could offer the slaves. It worked. Today millions of people enjoy their freedom in Christ because of Him fighting a war we could not win. Furthermore, He is coming back to fight one more war. In this war, it will be to punish all those who lost their honor and respect for the One who offered the greatest emancipation – freedom in Christ Jesus. If a society cannot honor their dead for offering their lives for earthly freedom, how will they honor a Savior that paved the way to eternal freedom? The answer is they won’t.
Lion of Judah Films & IOM America presents a gift production of “The American Flag.” Please be blessed.
