Monday will be a holiday in the United States, Memorial Day. My children are planning to go to Disneyland (ANY day's a day to go to the Magic Kingdom!). My email in-box has been flooded for days with sales promotions for all sorts of things I don't need. Department stores at the mall have announced 'extended shopping hours' for my convenience, and the television screen keeps blaring announcements of the fantastic "Memorial Day Sales Event" at my local Toyota or Ford or whatever dealer. Traditionally our family has celebrated Memorial Day with a big picnic or doing something fun together. Along the way, we may catch a moment on the news showing the President laying a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier at Arlington Cemetery in Washington or find that Google has decorated their masthead with stars and stripes, but otherwise it's not a serious or even patriotic occasion.
That changed for me while I was in Israel directing "Against All Odds: In Search Of A Miracle". I lived in Tel Aviv for an entire year without leaving the country, which meant I experienced Israel's Memorial Day for the first time.
The day before the holiday, I was eager to show off to my Jewish friends and neighbors a new Hebrew word I had just learned, "Chag sameach" which loosely translated means "Happy Holiday". As I returned from the Carmel market on the eve of Memorial Day and was walking up the stairs to my apartment, I passed a young man in his mid 20's who was my neighbor in the building. He was just entering his own apartment. Eagerly, I smiled, called out his name, and greeted him with "Chag sameach", expecting him to reciprocate. To my surprise, he stopped, looked at me with a troubled expression on his face at my remark and declared, "This is NOT a day to be happy!" In that moment I understood what Memorial Day is all about to these people, what it means to every Israeli. They are keenly aware that their freedom, their very life, is owed to the men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice for their country, and they are passionate about it. I was both humbled and frankly, as I thought of my own behavior and that of my countrymen in America on OUR Memorial Day, ashamed, that most of us have lost, if we ever had it, our sense of what this day represents.
On the eve of Memorial Day in Israel at precisely ten o'clock, a siren is sounded for one minute throughout the entire country. Wherever people are, no matter what they are doing, they stop. Cashiers stop ringing up sales. Waiters stop serving tables. Office workers push back from their computers or put down their phones. On the streets pedestrians stop walking, conversation ceases. Every car, truck, bus, motorcycle, taxi, everyone stops wherever they are, even on the crowded freeways. People get out of their vehicles and stand in silent reflection. For one minute this continues in every corner of Israel. The emotional power of this moment is palpable, even to a casual visitor.
On the day itself, by law no business occurs in Israel, no stores are open, no grocery stores or kiosks or gas stations or restaurants, nothing. There are no trains, no buses, no taxis -- the streets are peacefully quiet...the nation has made this day truly one of remembrance.
I have now experienced several Memorial Days in Israel, each time moved by the experience and more deeply appreciative of the sacrifice this day represents, impressed by the honor bestowed by a grateful nation on those who have given their last full measure of devotion to the cause of freedom. I have come away from those experiences determined to never again take our Memorial Day for granted. I've committed myself to making sure I find someone who has served our Armed Forces in the past or presently does so, and to make sure I thank them for their service that makes my life and freedom possible.
I refuse to condemn my kids for wanting to go to Disneyland or my family for wanting to have a picnic. We can still do those things if we take the time to remember that the REASON we can enjoy this day together is because of what others have done. As for the sales and the shopping, I have personally chosen to boycott all sales events on Memorial Day. Maybe if enough of us stay away, they'll decide it isn't worth it and close, allowing more of us to take this day to honor our servicemen and to commemorate their sacrifice by being with those we love and cherish. This ISN'T a happy day in a frivolous sense....but it IS a day to celebrate and to honor courage and devotion to America by those whose sacrifice has made my life of freedom a 'happy day' indeed.
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