What's Going On: Red Oak dropped the ball this Memorial Day

 Red Oak … we should be ashamed. 

I know I am. 

When I would give windshield tours to family, friends and prospective employees, there were certain things I would always boast: the Wilson Performing Arts Center, the YMCA, the bike trail, the Grand Theatre and the Murphy Calendar Company, to name a few. 

But one attribute of this community I would always tout was something less tangible than any building. It was the community’s patriotism. 

Every town has its Memorial Day and Veterans Day services, but Red Oak was different. It was, dare I say, a shade better. 

Maybe it was the Court of Honor dedicated to preserving service flags, maybe it was the unusually high number of World War II casualties from the town, maybe it was the battleship bearing the community’s name, but our veterans and their sacrifices seemed to mean more here than anywhere else I lived. 

That’s what I would tell folks who didn’t know much about Red Oak. It was what made us different. In some regards, it made us better. 

After attending Monday’s Memorial Day service, I’m starting to wonder if that’s still true. 

While the service had to be moved inside the high school gymnasium due to early morning storms, it featured all the other traditional aspects: the band performed some patriotic songs, taps was played, a military official issued a few inspiring remarks, and of course, 27 new service flags were dedicated. 

And thank goodness for that, because if it weren’t for the family members representing those 27 service members, I’m not sure there would have been 50 people at the ceremony. 

That’s sad. In fact, it’s pathetic. 

Since the Sept. 11 attacks, patriotism has been at a fever pitch nationally, unparalleled since World War II; or at least, a convenient form of patriotism. 

We wear flag pins, and t-shirts with flag prints. We stand in respect when the Star Spangled Banner is played and recite all the appropriate slogans, like “we will never forget,” or “the greatest nation on earth.”

But when it comes time to put actions to those words, when it comes time to walk the walk, our actions typically don’t back up our sentiments. 

We don’t exercise our most basic of American rights as voting turnout languishes well below 50 percent for nearly all but presidential elections. 

We cheat on our taxes and boast about our ability to do so. 

We have stopped volunteering in our communities, and living up to President Kennedy’s 50-year-old challenge of “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”

And Monday in Red Oak, where we claim to be the exception to the rule, most of us didn’t take an hour out of the holiday to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure we enjoy the freedoms we so covet. 

It’s easy to say you are a patriot. It’s something entirely different, though, to live up to those standards.

Red Oak used to do that. Red Oak used to be better than most. That’s something we need to strive to be again. 

Anything less is unacceptably average. 

Gregory Orear is the General Manager/Editor of the Red Oak Express and Glenwood Opinion-Tribune. He can be contacted at publisher@redoakexpress.com.