This is probably my most "conservative" opinion

[senseandsensibility]

I have never been accused of being a conservative or even a DINO. My philosophy may even be to the left of Bernie Sanders and AOC, and it is certainly to the left of many posters here.

Nevertheless, I will take a deep breath a say this: Memorial Day is about the Americans who gave their lives to give us the freedoms we enjoy.
The point of Memorial Day is to honor them. And I do honor them. In fact, I revere them, as corny as it sounds.

I am flying my flag today proudly in their honor to thank them. I don't criticize those who choose to fly it upside down however. That is their right, just one of the many that brave soldiers died to protect.

[Celerity]

1. That is neither a 'conservative' nor a 'progressive' stance, it is simply a correct one. Nation states often have their

people die in the defence of said nation states. I honour those sacrifices.

[dchill]

2. I wholeheartedly agree with all you say.

[ProfessorGAC]

3. Why Is That Conservative?

Are we surrendering patriotism to the right?

[senseandsensibility]

4. No

I hope not and I agree that there is a danger of sliding into that mentality so I am going to change my OP to put conservative in quotes. That's the way I intended it, but it was probably too subtle.

[ProfessorGAC]

7. Good Plan

[Skittles]

32. I cannot see how repukes in ANY way honor our troops

seriously - NOTHING

[Frasier Balzov]

5. The greatest sacrifice of all awaits our men and women in uniform.

A decision point I will call follow or replace.

[ananda]

6. I grok.

Well said.

[Ksout]

8. Fly it!

Being patriotic to the country belongs neither exclusively to the right or left. The armed forces are the same way.zHowever with the 4th of July coming up , I do have trouble with the hypocrisy of those whose loyalty is now to a dictator rather to the their democracy that independence was fought for. I am a veteran.

[senseandsensibility]

9. Welcome to DU

and thanks for your service!

[Grim Chieftain]

10. Thank you for this heartfelt post

I agree completely.

[senseandsensibility]

11. Welcome to DU

I see that you are a relatively new poster.

[Grim Chieftain]

12. Thanks for the welcome!

Long time lurker here.

[JT45242]

13. Well said ..those who died should be remembered

They fought fascists.

They fought a threat from the Chinese in korea (perceived or real...they fought for democracy)

They showed us the folly of sending poor kids to fight a war for rich people interests from France and the US in Vietnam.

They died all over the Middle East trying to protect our country even if leadership was not targeting the real power and money behind the threats.

It's not a partisan thing.

[Ksout]

14. Thank you

I, also, am a "long-time lurker". I rarely comment, but check-in almost daily to maintain my mental health with Trump's constantly disturbing my peace!

[senseandsensibility]

28. You should post more

The more you post the easier it gets! But I understand. In the beginning, I was kind of a lurker too.

[IbogaProject]

15. My Grandfather served in WW1

He took Memorial Day very seriously in remembrance of his fallen fellow members of his time in Europe.

[senseandsensibility]

17. I think having the experience of relatives who fought in WW1 or

WWII is really helpful in understanding what we are fighting against today. My late father in law served in combat in WWII as a teenager and then two tours in Vietnam. He never bragged, but he knew what he and his comrades had fought for.

[sop]

16. I honor their military service and their personal sacrifice.

[Ol Janx Spirit]

18. American progressives and conservatives alike stand under the umbrella of

freedom created by those that fought to ensure it for everyone.

As polarized as we are, we are all lucky that we can have these disagreements standing under the flag of our independent nation formed by the Constitution. History could easily see us standing under a British flag, a Confederate flag, a German flag, or a Japanese flag. Honoring that should be among the least political things we do as Americans. Sadly, that is not the case.

Thank you for your post.

[senseandsensibility]

19. Very eloquent

and I agree completely!

[TnDem]

20. Google disagrees

They always have a banner with the multicultural flavor of the day tagging their homepage logo.

Today it is gray with no wording.

[senseandsensibility]

23. ?

I think I'm missing something.

[TnDem]

24. OK, and what would that be?

[LoisB]

21. That sentiment is not conservative, it is proof of your humanity and good heart.

[senseandsensibility]

25. You're right

However, and this is just my opinion, it seems like some Dems are squeamish about proclaiming their patriotism. And they shouldn't be, because it kind of gives the issue to R's.

[LoisB]

26. You are absolutely correct. I never understood how they got to define themselves as the

"true" patriots.

[Skittles]

33. Democrats do not tend to use soldiers as political props

is that what you mean?

[ZDU]

22. Thank you, you are not alone!

[Eko]

27. I can understand that as the right has been trying to say they are the patriots for a long time.

But one of my ancestors was one of those radicals that fought against having a king and said some things that helped change our nation so I'll be dammed if they get to take it from us.

[Cirsium]

29. Conservative?

How is that conservative? The right wingers don't own patriotism.

[Skittles]

34. YOU GOT THAT RIGHT

I cannot see in ANY way how repukes are truly patriotic - NONE AT ALL

[magicarpet]

30. The teDUMP brand of patriotism is nauseating.

The ones who act like Fascists - but are sure to march around with a Chinese made AmeriKKKan flag on their left lapel to "prove" their patriotic bona fides.

Same goes with the sisters and brothers comprised of Christo-Fascists claiming to prove their Christian Nationalism bona fides with a fake golden cross of Jesus - likely again made in China. But they are so proud to march around and display to the public that they are Born Again devout followers of Jesus.

But if they bumped into Jesus while he was giving one of his sermons,... they would run off and gather a mob of their violence prone friends. Returning to the reveal tent where Jesus spoke. Then drag him outside and stone him until dead for condoning inclusivity, diversity, and human kindness.

It gets to the point where uttering the Pledge of Alleigence is a mind shameful and boggling endeavor. This is where we proclaim freedom and justice for all. But we have no fucking intentions to honor that commitment.

A country where liars and cheats like djt, Fux Snuz, dearly departed Rush Limbaugh amongst many many othersè are permitted to hide behind the First Ammendment of Free Speech Rights. While they incessantly dish out right-wing propaganda which is distorting and fabricating reality and tearing our country apart. But they get a pass from our government and our courts to crank out more propaganda while being waved on by because Freedom of Speech permits and encourages them to do so and there is nothing that can be done about it.

Then when half the population refuses to vote and becomes hyper cynical - we can find no rhyme or reason for this degree of voter apathy. As our system of Democratic governance swirls around the drain of Fascism, until there is no Democracy left any more. We had it -but we lost it - because we were to tangled up in institutionalized protocols, congressional decorum, and respect for our brothers and sisters on the opposite side of the aisle - while they savagely ripped the carpet of Democracy right out from under us. While they parked the USA in the cesspool of dictators despots, and authoritarianism. As the billionaires and oligarchs proceed to divide anything of value remaining in America among themselves.

Everyone else can just go take a hike.

The laws of diminishing confidence.
The only thing that lies ahead for us, our children, and our

grand-children is a much bleaker tomorrow. We must put a halt to this cascading rampage of greed and gluttony by the richer class.

[WarGamer]

31. Call it the cynic in me...

But how many NEEDED to go fight and die?

~400k died in defense of Europe...

Easy to think of WW2 as an opportunity for the US to "save" Europe...

Also easy to see the opportunity for American Hegemony post WW2

[Martin Eden]

35. We honor those who sacrificed, even needlessly

Last edited Tue May 27, 2025, 06:36 PM - Edit history (1)

GW's illegal and counterproductive war in Iraq did nothing to protect our freedoms. If anything, it created a recruiting and training ground for the next generation of terrorists.

Nevertheless, it is altogether fitting that we honor our soldiers who gave their all in that conflict. They went where their country sent them.

[WarGamer]

36. I'm quite the cynic...

IMHO... the US didn't stage D-Day to defeat the Nazis.

By June of 1944, The German military had been decimated on the Eastern front.

The Battle of Moscow, the Winter offensive... Kharkov, Stalingrad, Kursk...

By D-Day the German Eastern front had collapsed.

Millions of fatalities.

They'd lost control over the air and seas...



The US didn't need to invade France to defeat Germany.

The Russians would have done it... later in 1945.

But FDR and Churchill agreed to D-Day for the SOLE PURPOSE of preventing the USSR from driving WEST after Berlin and raising the red flag over all of Europe.

So in reality... Grandpa JJ didn't die to stop the Nazis, he died to stop the Communists.

[Martin Eden]

37. From D-Day to VE day was 10+ months

During that time the German army fought tenaciously on two fronts. Defeating the Nazi regime required great effort east & west.

The Russians wanted the Western allies to invade Europe in 1943, and were not happy when we decided to attack the Germans in Africa then up through Sicily & Italy.

A case can be made that holding back on invading Western Europe worked against Russian interests, allowing Germany to throw more resources at the Eastern front.

Long term geostrategic advantages are of course taken into consideration. Stalin was a monster to rival Hitler. We also had a major war to fight in the Pacific theater.

A degree of skepticism if not cynicism is called for, because the real motives behind wars are not necessarily for public consumption. Smedley Butler called the wars of the late 19th and early 20th century a "racket" fought to enrich corporations.

None of which means we should not honor the soldiers who sacrificed so much.