CHRIS LIVE AKA SHAKER SAYS: My beautiful and talented cousin/GODsister/brainiac Jennifer graduated from the prestigious Columbia University Graduate School last week and, obviously, such an achievement called for some heavy celebration! It was not all champagne toasts though. Over a delicious (albeit different than my Brooklyn ass has grown accustomed to ... lol) Italian dinner @ OTTO's, conversation drifted from current to past historical events and the contextual nuances surrounding each. My GODfather, a former Wall Street maven now relishing his retirement and all of the free time that it has to offer, is still a boy from The Bronx who became a man as a Marine during the Vietnam War.
Not unusual for those of us who tip the bottle, as the wine flowed so did the memories. My GODfather's proud recollection of his service as a Marine was only marred by the friends that he lost and the venomous acrimony with which he was "greeted" upon his return home from the war. The government had once again played politics with the lives of it's soldiers - the human capital expenditure of the Vietnam War in particular has never and can never be accurately accounted for. Yes, War is indeed hell.
No matter where Y.O.U. stand on the national defense issue, please never permit yourself to categorically dismiss the selfless sacrifices of our brave military men and women simply because Y.O.U. aint feeling the United States of America's global initiatives and "bully pulpit" world power policies. This country is full of shit, but, I challenge Y.O.U. to find any developed nation that does not have more than it's fair share of hypocrisy. It is imperative that we ALL realize that it is most often the people whom have the least options among us who, while looking to supplement college tuition and explore a world that they might otherwise have only seen on television, provide the 1st line of defense against our enemies and ensure the liberties that we almost always blithely take for granted.
This holiday is about so much more than cliché "I-am-a-better-American-than-Y.O.U." symbolism in the form of yellow ribbons tied around random trees. Memorial Day has got to signify more than the unofficial start of the Summer season and a reason to hit the beaches homie. No, today is the day when we recognize the price paid for freedoms saved and pray for the souls of the guardians that continue to foot the bill for our country's toll in perpetuity.
Fuck it! Let's keep it all the way hood my nigga. Whether Y.O.U. boldly defend the corner of your block or are now stationed in Iraq, I humbly salute Y.O.U. and your service. I don't have to necessarily agree with the orders that Y.O.U. have been given, but, I pray that GOD watches over and Y.O.U. and protects Y.O.U. on your mission. Thank Y.O.U. This is Livestyle.
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