The grills fire up, the highways clog, flags wave in the breeze. Memorial Day in America: equal parts mourning, marketing, and meat. Big-box stores shout “Remember the Fallen” while slashing mattress prices. Patriotism, now available in queen size with free shipping.
The dead don’t get a vote in how they’re remembered. They’re draped in ceremony while the living squabble over whether democracy itself is optional. Soldiers gave their lives for something larger than themselves. And Americans thank them by arguing about mask mandates in grocery stores.
In Durango, the parades look small-town sincere, kids waving flags with sticky fingers, veterans marching slower each year. It’s moving, but bittersweet. Because behind the bunting and the hot dogs is a country that honors its dead but forgets their lessons before the fireworks fade.