Demonstrating the religious fervor that sadly defines her existence, Hillary Clinton made a suggestion for how her fellow countrymen could spend this Memorial Day.
Overzealous political obsession is ruining friendships and relationships like never before, but yes, what could be a better idea than injecting your family cookout with Hillary Clinton-inspired talking points about the evils of a man who beat her in a presidential race nearly decade ago?
With all due respect, might I suggest that the wisest course of action for all of us would be to mute Hillary's bitterness, enjoy sharing and making memories with family, and if you're really struggling with conversation topics, pass on telling at least two people how Trump is the devil, and instead tell them stories that honor who this day is dedicated to.
Tell them about Staff Sergeant Jimmy Goethel Stewart, whose 6-man Company B was attacked early in the morning by an entire North Vietnamese battalion. All 5 of Stewart's company were wounded in the opening moments of the onslaught, but the 24-year-old fought back …alone. For four hours he held their position single-handedly, exhausting all his ammunition, crawling under intense fire to his wounded comrades to retrieve theirs, grabbing countless enemy grenades and throwing them back before they exploded. When American reinforcements finally arrived, Stewart did not retreat to safety. He participated in the counter-surge, penetrating an enemy foxhole and wiping out 8 of the enemy before being killed. "For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty," Jimmy Goethel Stewart was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Or talk to them about Private Nicholas Palermo. At just 16-years-old, Palermo enlisted and headed to France with the doughboys of WWI. When his regiment was assaulting Furth, Germany, his company came under intense fire from multiple German machine gun nests. With complete disregard for his own safety, the young teenager leaped over the roadblock and directed friendly tanks in pinpointing and destroying the machine guns. Palermo confronted 7 enemy soldiers in hand-to-hand combat, killing 2, wounding 2, and capturing 3. Later that same day, he stormed another machine gun nest and nearly wiped out all the enemy soldiers before multiple bullet wounds brought him to the ground. He died at just 18 years old, and was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his profound contributions in the eventual surrender of Furth.
Or maybe, lieu of politics, bring up the extraordinary life of Doris "Dorie" Miller who was a mess attendant aboard the USS West Virginia on December 7, 1941. Just before 8 am that morning, Miller was collecting soiled laundry when everything around him exploded. Amid the fire and confusion, Miller raced to the main deck and attempted to pull a mortally wounded captain to safety. The captain refused to be moved from his post, so Miller made his way to an unattended deck gun and began firing at attacking planes. The fact that Miller shot down at least one, perhaps up to 6 Japanese aircraft that morning is even more remarkable when you realize that Miller had never received any training on such weapons before. After abandoning ship, Miller was promoted and continued his service in WWII before dying when his ship was torpedoed in the Pacific.
Those are just some of the higher-profile examples of the hundreds of thousands of American heroes that gave the last full measure of devotion to a cause much greater than any of us.
That their stories are not always in our minds and on our lips is a testimony to how easily distracted we become with everything from personal routines to political rancor.
It's why we need a day like Memorial Day.
It's why we need to be reminded of what unites us rather than divides us.
It's why we need to take at least 24 hours to spend enjoying our families and freedom, if for no other reason, as an admittedly insufficient way to say thank you to those whose sacrifice made it possible.
P.S. Now check out our latest video 👇
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Not the Bee or any of its affiliates.
