Photo: MANDEL NGAN / AFP / Getty Images
The President Joe Biden commemorated the fallen American soldiers and in his message for Memorial Day made reference to the defense of democracy, warning that it is is in danger, both in the United States and in the world.
” Democracy itself is in danger, here at home and around the world ”, said the president. “What we do now, what we do now, how we honor the memory of the fallen will determine whether democracy will last for a long time.”
President led the ceremony to commemorate Memorial Day from Arlington National Cemetery, highlighting that those soldiers who lost their lives defending the country did so as a way to defend the freedom that democracy grants.
a debt that we can never pay in full. We owe them all our soul. We owe them our best efforts to perfect the union for which they died ”, he highlighted.
He spoke of the battles that the Americans themselves face, in the midst of the political and social division that has led to extreme positions.
“The Empathy is the fuel of democracy … Our willingness to see ourselves not as enemies, but as neighbors, even when we disagree, to understand what the other is going through ”, he urged.
Biden spoke of governments with autocratic tendencies in the world, although he did not refer to one in particular, but considered that freedom, justice and opportunities are more viable in a democracy.
“This nation was built on an idea, the only nation in the world built on an idea. All other nations were built on the basis of ethnicity, geography, religion, and so on. We build ourselves on an idea, the idea of freedom, an opportunity for all “, he defended. “We have never fully realized that aspiration of our foundation, but each generation has opened the door a little more and each generation has opened it more and more to be more inclusive.”
He pointed out that the fallen soldiers are part of that advance that American democracy achieves. He asked to remember them, in addition to highlighting the diversity in the Army, including ethnic, racial and sexual orientation.
On Twitter he said that it is an “obligation “As a nation, honor the memory of those who have died for the country, in addition to” supporting their families. “
We have a sacred obligation as a nation to always honor the memory of those we’ve lost – and to support their families.
That is the vow we make each year on Memorial Day.
– President Biden (@POTUS) May 31, 2021
Asked to remind the members of the army who gave their lives “for their sacrifice”, but without forgetting their human essence, “their smiles, their loves,” he stated.
“For those who mourn a loved one today, Jill and I have an idea of how they feel,” said the President, who lost his son Beau, who died of cancer after returning from service in Kosovo. “Our losses are not the same, but it is that black hole that they feel in their chest, as if it were going to suck them up.”
Memorial Day events began early Monday, when President Biden, the first lady Jill Biden , the Vice President Kamala Harris , the second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, as well as Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, participated in a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The generals also gave a speech.
On Saturday, Biden visited the grave of his son Beau, where he also sent a message for Memorial Day and said: “As you know, it is a difficult day for us” .