Remember, Remember- the 6th of June

I was watching a discussion on the Howard Kurtz show called “Reliable Sources.” The discussion turned to a network snubbing the moment of silence on 9-11. One of the guests said that in time, these events lose some meaning and we stop “remembering” them in official ways. The guest said we do not have a moment of silence for Pearl Harbor every December 7th. We should!

This is something that has bothered me for years. I have been trying to get networks and even the US Congress and White House to take note of the common experiences that bind a nation together. I even tweeted my concern to Howard Kurtz last June, but alas- not even he had the pull to help me out.

At 10:00PM  EWT (Eastern War Time) on June 6th, 1944 President Franklin Roosevelt took to the radio to inform the nation of the D-Day Landings. He did not choose a speech- but chose a prayer. The prayer to and for the nation was one of the most remarkable events in history. People who heard Roosevelt’s voice crackle over the radio that night tell me that they sat as if in church. Many of the listeners had sons who were landing in France- never to return. Every American should listen to that prayer once a year.

As the “Greatest Generation” ages we must not let the common events of the period drift away into the mist. I have asked networks to stop at 10:00PM each June 6th and play the FDR broadcast. I have asked local papers to print it. I have asked that a member of congress read the prayer on the floor of the House and Senate at 10:00PM each June 6th. I have even asked that the White House read the speech each year.

We are losing the common events that once held us together. The closest we have now are the Olympics or maybe the Super Bowl.  I think church bells should ring around the nation every December 7th. I think we should go back to the founding and bring back small remembrances of the events that mystically hold us together. I fear we have lost this. As generations recede we must not concede the inevitability of the fading of historical memory.

We owe this to those who have gone before us. We have failed. Who will join me to recover our soul?

Does anyone even know how and when to celebrate Flag Day? Good Heavens.

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