What We Mean by Memorial

One of the most challenging figures of recent history has to be General Patton, his death left so many questions unanswerable as to his life; but this we know, he was enormous in the field of battle, he was enormous as a courageous leader, and he was a man who stood by his word. In these days of the political warrior, a General Patton might not be possible. Then there is the historical question as to whether a General Patton was/is needed? The question we explore here is to say yes or no to that.

No Patton - no story, no future. This is the derivative logic that says that each player in history has a purpose which is intermingled with all other purposes and as such if it is removed, history is altered. We have trouble with this one, it makes us all important, and we have trouble seeing ourselves in that light. We might be important in a singular way to our family, our friends, maybe even extended out into our work world; but we don't want to see our sense of being important go much beyond that. Patton knew he had a history, he knew he was a part of the story of all humankind, what aggravated people was his inability to glaze over that fact with the regular story lines of folks. Patton was just blunt about who he was and what he was about, how about you?

If it were a different Patton- then it would be a different story, different future. When we look back through the lens of history we see the great victory, we don't see the great price. We don't want to believe that there were many possible solutions; that just doesn't fit into our way of looking at the life we lead. The facts, in our way of looking at it, are the facts, history has been, and that's over, and that, as they say, is that. Would Patton say such? According to one interview Patton believed in past lives, believed he had been at famous battles of the past, and believed he was incarnate in the present to be the great general that he was, he believed it was his destiny.

Seeing the big picture of a Memorial Day and a General Patton, means that somehow in your soul you get the celebration that honor brings and makes sense of the present. It is so often confusing, we aren't always secure in the knowledge that we are being led by the truth, it's hard to decide who we can trust; and the issues aren't easy. We know we are thankful, thankful for those who serve that we might be free. But we also feel that such is beyond us, simply because we cannot be there where they are. In some sense, we feel the same way about the past. We weren't there, so we don't really understand it; but we know we can somehow plug in to what it ought to mean to us, as we honor those who went before us.

General Patton is an example of the lightning rod effect of decisive people; they seem to draw the energy of the almighty into their lives and the lives of those around them. In this article we have talked about a huge lighting rod that has a name that is recognized world wide, George Patton, General U.S. Army, 2^nd World War. We've seen and discussed how Patton was no angel, had distinctive beliefs, and yet, we still hold him in honor, as we do all those who serve their country as we celebrate Memorial Day in America. But the story isn't about Patton, not really, because at the root of this story is a person who is reading what is on these pages, and the question then becomes, will you take the chance that you are as important to history as it indicates every person is, and do your very best today to prove that every person counts. That's the legacy of the General that we remember, and the men and women of our armed forces that we honor, every one of them counts, and you, by reading this, ensure that such won't vanish from our lives because you are that important.