Memorial Day has come to mean the beginning of summer, a time for picnics and barbecues, and a holiday for family to gather around. That happiness and freedom, however, are products of the real cause for the holiday: the sacrifice made by men and women who have fought and died for the freedoms and liberties Americans hold dear.
Memorial Day is a time to remember that the American way of life is not cheap but rather has been purchased by the lives and blood of so many who have sacrificed for us to live free and happily now.
A little more than 250 years ago, when the first shots were fired at Lexington and Concord and our Revolutionary War began, American men and women have been answering the nation’s call to duty. Millions of Americans have fought on battlefields here and in other countries to defend our way of life.
We salute the patriots who froze through the winter at Valley Forge, the soldiers in the muddy trenches of Europe, the platoons in the jungles of Vietnam, those now guarding the waters in the Middle East and all those serving in our military — because they believed in the dignity of people.
It didn’t matter the color of their skin, what religion they practiced or whether they were rich or poor. They fought and died for the freedom for all.
So now it’s up to the living to remember their sacrifice and dedication to all of us so freedom will continue to prevail. We need to express our love and thanks for the sacrifices they made as they served with bravery and honor to protect our country.
Let us remember them on this Memorial Day and every day of our lives.
— Mike Formento, commander, Glen Ellyn American Legion Post 3
It comes at a heavy price
Memorial Day is a unique celebration. Of all the holidays, it is by far the most split-minded — a national day of mourning as well as a much anticipated start to summer.
Easily forgotten in all the excitement of outdoor games, picnics and roasted weenies is the honoring of fallen heroes who gave their all so that those left behind might enjoy this special day.
At ceremonies all across this land, names will be recited and battles recalled, but nothing can do justice to the sacrifices made by those who long ago forfeited any opportunity to experience yet another parade or fireworks display.
We might want to keep that in mind when we pour another beer or consume another burger. While no one begrudges us our day in the sun, it’s worth remembering that so many of those things we now take for granted came at a heavy price.
— Bob Ory, Elgin
Instructions on democracy
In reference to Amy Crider’s May 15 letter “Democrats’ misunderstanding,” there is perhaps an unintended lesson — if you are going to repeatedly refer to people as “dumb,” make sure you have your facts straight. Crider writes that electoral votes are based on the number of senators a state has. They are also based on the total number of representatives. This goes hand in hand with the compromise made by the Framers to balance the interests of large and small states: equal representation in the Senate and proportional representation based on population in the House of Representatives. If congressional representation were based only on population, small states like Iowa would have no power against the will of larger states like California. If representation were simply equal, small states would have outsized influence against their larger neighbors.
In the Electoral College, that means that more populous states always have more electoral votes.
Democracy is a necessarily imperfect system in which there will always be people who wind up unhappy and often the best person does not win. Insulting people’s intelligence generally does not help (Just ask Hillary Clinton about her “basket of deplorables” comment.) No doubt the system has issues, and the debate over reforms to the Electoral College and other institutions (ahem, Congress) are worthwhile.
Democracy requires rigorous scrutiny. However, for people to engage in these debates, it helps to have a proper understanding of the system, and sadly, many have little knowledge of it or have forgotten whatever they learned in school.
So maybe during this Memorial Day weekend, when we honor those who died for our freedom, people would be wise to take a moment to glance through the Constitution and refresh their memory. That way, when you want to argue the system doesn’t work, at least you’ve read the instruction manual.
— Peter Poulos, Chicago
Honor Flight Chicago a joy
I had the opportunity to participate in an Honor Flight Chicago breakfast last Monday, which was featured on CBS affiliate WBBM-Ch. 2’s “Jump Start with Jackie” morning show with Jackie Kostek. I strongly encourage any veteran of any branch and time frame to go to www.honorflightchicago.org and sign up for a flight. Regardless of what role you played during your military time, you sacrificed a piece of your lifetime on behalf of our country and deserve to be honored for that sacrifice; nobody does it better than Honor Flight Chicago!
You’ll be treated to a day unlike anything you’ve ever experienced, and you’ll remember the experience for the rest of your life. I say this to any veteran reading this or those who have relatives or friends who are veterans who have not taken an Honor Flight. Do yourself and your relatives and friends a huge favor, go to the website and sign up.
You’ll be glad you did. I surely was.
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— Frank Bomher, veteran, Clarendon Hills
Descriptions of extremism
The recent shooting at a mosque in San Diego, California, allegedly carried out by two teenagers, is being labeled a hate crime. It is a hate crime. Yet America cannot continue ignoring the double standard used to describe violence depending on who commits it.
If the attackers had been Muslim, the language would likely have been different, such as headlines citing “Islamic terrorism.” And once again, millions of peaceful Muslims would have been pressured to answer for crimes they neither committed nor supported.
The violence would remain the same. The victims would remain the same. Only the identity of the perpetrators would be different and, with it, the national narrative. That is not justice. That is selective outrage.
When white extremists attack mosques, synagogues, Black churches or other houses of worship, the public conversation often shifts toward mental health, alienation or troubled youth. The ideology behind the violence is softened, individualized or explained away.
When a Muslim commits violence, however, the act is too often tied to Islam itself, a faith practiced peacefully by nearly 2 billion people worldwide. The actions of criminals become a stain unfairly placed upon an entire religion and community.
No religion should be judged by those who distort its teachings through hatred and violence.
Words matter. Labels matter. The selective use of terms such as terrorism, extremism and hate crime shapes public perception and influences policy, policing and public fear. When identical acts of violence are described differently based on race or religion, trust in the media, political institutions and the justice system erodes.
America cannot claim moral consistency while applying one standard to Muslims and another to white extremists. Violence intended to intimidate communities, spread fear or target people because of their faith is terrorism, regardless of the perpetrator’s religion, ethnicity or political identity. The standard must be universal, or it is meaningless.
Equal justice requires equal standards, without exceptions, hesitation or convenience. No community should be blamed for the actions of criminals, and no perpetrator should receive softer language because of race, religion or background.
I ask every one of us to speak up now before it is too late. God bless you all, and God bless the United States of America — one America for all.
— Masood Akhtar, Madison, Wisconsin
Parking meter accountability
The proposed sale of Chicago’s parking meter system to New York investment firm Stonepeak Partners offers yet another payday for the investors of Chicago Parking Meters LLC. In 2008, aldermen failed to protect the citizens of Chicago from a disastrous deal affecting the city for decades. Here we are, 18 years later, with a new crop of aldermen and a new deal being proposed. Are these aldermen willing and able to get accountability for their constituents?
Don’t Chicagoans have a right to know who benefited from the sale of their city’s property?
— Marilyn Kelly, Chicago
City deal for for parking meters
Regarding the editorial “Chicago, meet Stonepeak Partners. Stonepeak Partners meet a Chicago that’s ticked off about your big parking meter deal” (May 20): Unlike the city of Chicago, Stonepeak Partners isn’t run by fools. The private equity firm has done its due diligence. Whatever it has offered Chicago Parking Meters LLC (which hasn’t been disclosed, as the editorial points out), its senior partners think it’s a good deal and will generate the annual 20% return on investment that private equity firm investors normally seek.
Why doesn’t the city take that advice? It could offer CPM the same price; sell dedicated revenue bonds to raise the cash, and earmark all parking revenues for interest and retirement of the bonds. The city’s lower cost of capital (tax-exempt bonds have a much lower interest rate than the return that private equity firms demand) would enable it to moderate future price increases. Street closure payments to the bond retirement could be calculated at actual costs — not whatever CPM or its successor demand.
— Merrill Goozner, Chicago
True collar of game attendees
Arlington Heights Village President Jim Tinaglia, along with other opponents of a Bears move to a proposed northwest Indiana site in Hammond, expressed concern about the new stadium being built on a giant slag heap near hazardous waste sites and adjacent to BP’s Whiting Refinery (“Bears’ Hammond site would be on slag heap,” May 19).
One would think, however, that given all the chest-thumping Bear boosters do about the team’s supposedly blue-collar attitude and fan base, such attributes would be desirable for the Bears. Perhaps this will come as a revelation to those self-styled working-stiff types who tout their loyalty to “Da Bears,” but steel mills, oil refineries and metals smelting facilities are familiar territory to genuine blue-collar types.
However, given the price of a ticket to a Bears game, whether in Indiana or in Arlington Heights, those comfortable with the trappings of a genuine working person’s life will surely be rare among the fans at a new Bears home. Instead, the stadium will be overwhelmingly populated by people whose “blue-collar pride” resides in their own heads rather than in the real circumstances of their white-collar lives.
— Mark M. Quinn, Naperville
Note to readers
We’d like to hear from CTA riders about what frustrates you about the CTA as well as what you’re grateful for. (Sincere thoughts only.) Send a letter by Thursday, May 28 of no more than 400 words to [email protected]. Be sure to include your full name and city/town.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email [email protected].