Have you been to the Memorial Day Parade in Levittown? If not, cancel whatever plans you have for next Monday morning and bring a lawn chair to Hempstead Turnpike. (You’re welcome to park in Saint Bernard’s parking lot if you need a place to park). This is a part of the American experience that you and your family ought not to miss.
This is also a chance for us to invite immigrants to join us in this day of remembrance. Often we just presume that all our neighbors and co-workers know about this holiday. At best they might have a barbecue—if they know about this day at all. But of course that would be missing the point. How could we expect immigrants to know about this holiday if we don’t get them involved? After all, if we were traveling in Israel on May 12, would we have known it was Independence Day? Or in Poland on May 3 for Constitution Day? Or in France on July 14 for Bastille Day? Only the natives would truly appreciate the meaning their national holidays, and as visitors, we’d appreciate a little guidance and welcome.
So invite people to come with you. If you’re a grandparent who is always looking for something to do with the grandkids for free, this is a good reason to call them up and invite them over—especially to teach them that the freedoms we enjoy aren’t free. The men and women who died in past wars gave their lives so that we could live as free people in this beautiful country of ours.
The Levittown Memorial parade is the closest thing to Americana that I know. I am never prouder to live in Levittown than on Memorial Day. Hundreds of people walk in the parade and hundreds more line the sidewalks to watch the marchers, the riders, the twirlers, the players, the veterans, all honoring those who made the supreme sacrifice. Local school bands, scouts, civic associations, sports teams, the fire department and many others walk from Wantagh Avenue to the Levittown Veterans Memorial Park by the library. In some communities parades such as this are waning, the routes shortened, the participants fade away. In Levittown, we witness a community pride and a national pride that is vibrant and alive.
I think that being part of this parade also stirs up a sense of civic responsibility. If those who went before us fought and gave their lives for our freedom and well being, ought we not exercise these freedoms? People who are not registered to vote, are inspired to do so. When people salute the flag in the parade they are inspired to fly the flag in front of their homes. When people see youth involved in scouting or other activities, they are inspired to support these youth groups throughout the year.
In any case, come and be inspired. And if you take me up on the offer to park at Saint Bernard’s, or even if you’re passing by on the way home, feel free to stop inside and say a prayer for those who died and a prayer of thanksgiving for our freedoms and our blessings. God bless America.
