Circumlocutions

cott Green­field over at Sim­ple Jus­tice posted today about the cus­tom of lay­ing wreaths on the graves of those who have made the ulti­mate sac­ri­fice for their coun­try, thanks to a pro­gram called Wreaths Across Amer­ica.

   Scott also intro­duced the new pro­gram called Wreaths Over the Water that was started this year in Florida. The pro­gram hon­ors those brave fallen who are with­out graves; those lost to the sea, those miss­ing in action and those pris­on­ers of war.

   As Scott puts it:

‘

The pol­i­tics of war bears no con­nec­tion to the sac­ri­fice of these men and women, or the loss of their fam­i­lies and friends. Hav­ing given their lives, the least we can do is remem­ber them, offer com­fort to their fam­i­lies and honor their sac­ri­fice.
The hope is that this is the birth of a tra­di­tion that will find its way into the hearts and minds of Amer­i­cans across the nation. This Decem­ber 12^th, there was but one cer­e­mony held in Florida. Next year, let this cer­e­mony be repeated across the nation. Those whose bod­ies were lost to the water are no less deserv­ing of our thoughts.

   No mat­ter what peo­ple have said regard­ing reli­gious orna­ments being used in hon­or­ing the fallen, I agree with Jus­tice Scalia’s view:

‘

It’s erected as a war memo­r­ial. I assume it is erected in honor of all of the war dead…What would you have them erect?…Some con­glom­er­ate of a cross, a Star of David, and you know, a Mus­lim half moon and star?”

   Writ­ing as an ortho­dox Jew, acknowl­edg­ing that a wreath and the time is Christian-centric, I have no qualms in adding my hopes to Scott’s — that this cer­e­mony be repeated next year across the nation.