Thank God for America

Yesterday was D-Day, a day which is receding into the background of our public life and our private memory. Some 2,500 American soldiers paid the ultimate price to begin the last chapter in the story of Hitler's defeat. It's also a day we need to hold on to in a world that still demands sacrifice - not the hundred trendy calls to action which are thrown at us these days and which I suspect, ultimately, are only meant to enslave us while making us feel noble.

In my mind's eye I can still see the World War II vets in the parades of my boyhood. They were only in their late forties then and seemed so full of good cheer, still able to march along with the Cub Scouts and the Little League teams. For them, every parade and gazebo celebration was a chance to laugh and remind each other that they had survived and had gotten a chance to build something other than a defensive perimeter.

This video is a parody of how the D-Day landings might be covered today. It tells you everything you need to know about where we have arrived.