"A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic." - Joseph Stalin
May 30th is Memorial Day in the US. Officially, it’s a holiday designated by the national government to honor those who died in military service.
There’s a tendency for people, especially government officials and their nationalist supporters, to toss about phrases such as "they gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country." Grand ceremonies are held, especially at military cemeteries, full of patriotic pomp and circumstance.
The problem with such displays is that they risk glorifying death. Stalin was right only to the extent that it’s a normal human reaction when confronted with large numbers of deaths to lose sight that everyone killed was human, regardless of what side they fought. We tend to forget that each one was a person with hopes and dreams.
Every death from war is a tragedy.
Memorial Day isn’t a day of celebration. Nor is it a day of patriotic pride. It’s a day for mourning the lives taken too soon through the waste of war.
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