In England we have Remembrance Sunday to honor our soldiers, in the USA they have 2 days. Veteran's Day which is 11th November, as is ours, and Memorial Day. Americans love the armed forces. People 'in service' over here get all kinds of discounts and free entry to things. The number one tv show over here, NCIS is about Navel Criminal Investigation Services. You often see men and women in full military dress wandering around shopping malls and the like. If I was born an American , hell even now, I would be tempted to join up myself. To be in the military seems to be as close to being perfect as you can get. They are automatically 'heros' just from their job choice. Nearly everyone you meet seems to have a family member over in Afghanistan or 'Eye'rak. Personally, I feel the glorification of the military cannot ever be a good thing. If troops are 'drafted' that is one thing but people are rarely totally altruistic and the army is a job, with pay, as any other. Especially nowadays when the 'enemy' is such a media led device. However, Memorial Day is a big deal. We went down to Scotia for the parade and blow me if even a hardened liberal as myself didn't shed a tear to some of the old timey solders being driven past. The parade was VERY America. Cheerleaders, Little Leaguers, Classic Cars, Darth Vader. They were all there. I loved the fact that bringing up the rear were a group of pacifists with peace signs. That was my favourite part. We had a day off school for Memorial Day and attended a BBQ. This was fantastic, a 'real' American holiday. The sun beat down ferociously and we ate hot dogs and burgers. Americans are a very proud nation and sometimes I wonder if with all my liberal cynicism, I am not missing out on some good clean fun!
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