[Ed: First appearing on DRGO 3 years ago, we repost this piece yearly.]

Memorial Day has now come for the 54^th time since it was officially proclaimed in 1967. It has been kept nationwide, though unofficially, since World War II, and as Decoration Day since 1868.  It was born in spontaneous memorials early during the Civil War.  Remembering war dead has been important throughout history, even as the manner of recognition has changed across time and societies.

As with many things cultural, I wonder about the layers of meaning in this universal expression of respect for those who have died in service to something we consider larger than any of us.

For those who have lost loved ones to war, the meaning is close and personal. We would remember them no matter what, but losing them in this way blends in pride and at times anger to the usual loss.  No one who dies in war enjoyed their natural span of years in which to fully form and contribute. This is a greater loss the younger they are (and most are not very old).

Yet by and large, we experience greater appreciation than distress as we honor our fallen. We are looking beyond the impact of death on them and to their impact on our lives. In many cases, such as the Civil War and World Wars I and II, the men (and, more recently, women) who died, along with the greater number of their fellows who survived, changed the course of history to our benefit.

Can lives lost always be weighed against lives saved? If we can reckon those numbers, perhaps so. That is, unless there was another, less costly way to save them, which we may speculate on but  is ultimately unknowable.

We may not believe in the justice of a war.  But we don’t blame the dead, because the fallen are victims too. We should have learned by now not to blame the survivors, who could easily have become their guiltless dead friends. Memorial Day is not one on which we call anyone to account.

Nor is it a day for the dead; their watch has ended. They gain nothing from our praise. It is really a day for the living who remember them.

So what does memorializing do for us? Psychologically, a great deal. The act of remembering someone we knew keeps them closer despite the unfathomable gulf between life and death.  It keeps the memory of them fresher, the more it is exercised.  It softens the hard edges of loss by lessening the intensity of their absence. They are still with us, at least this much.

That makes sense personally, as individuals. What of the cultural pull to gather at cemeteries, to march in and watch parades, to recall and celebrate the gift these people unintentionally made us?  This is the greatest gift of all, that of one’s life and future.

The sacrifice of so many lives across so many generations of Americans is typically framed as the cost of keeping America free and whole. Freedom isn’t free, as an exceptional epigrammist once said. But is it worth that price?

One argument in favor is based on outcomes. Winning the Revolution, the Civil War and World War II made America, held it together and kept it safe. The battles for westward growth were probably inevitable given the pressure to expand, and ultimately likely for better than worse for the most people. Other wars may not have affected America’s welfare as dramatically, but have often shown our willingness to try to help others too.  In every case, when America wins, the rest of the world becomes more secure, too.

However, we don’t subdivide our battle dead by war, theater or era. They all mean the same. I think we are reminding ourselves of something deeper and more fundamental about life on this earth, especially about our lives as citizens of the freest and most democratic and opportunity-filled nation in history.

It’s not just that our freedom isn’t free, but that this world is not America anywhere but here. It is harsher, more divisive, and much more threatening than we ordinarily contemplate, much less experience. The cost of maintaining our country’s “way of life”, as hackneyed as that phrase has become, actually is constant vigilance and readiness to defend it. Being ready to defend it means finding that we often must, against dangers that our vigilance discovers.

The consequences of a world without guns or of being unwilling to use them are the same. The mighty prevail. America’s gift that underpins Memorial Day is our willingness to use our Might on behalf of what we, sometimes uncertainly, see as Right, for ourselves and others.

America is a nation defined by its founding documents and the course of its history built upon them. It is the idea that those principles matter more than anyone’s or any group’s success, which makes it possible for more individuals of more groups than ever before to achieve their own, unique successes. It is the reality that we have something unequalled in the world that can only be maintained by fidelity to our exceptionalism in these ways.

And, finally, America is the people who are willing to uphold those values by giving themselves to the fight for them. These include all of us who vote, respect our laws and keep faithful to our founding ideals. They are all us who care, who argue, who split apart and come together over how to continue to enact those ideals. And they are those of us who have given energy, toil, blood and tears to provide for America’s security.  Many have done so, some more briefly than others, whose lives were given too soon.

Memorial Day reminds us of all this—that what is good is not natural, automatic or self-sustaining in a world that is amoral and disinterested in our survival, let alone our success. Many have stepped up to do their bit, and some their all, to ensure that our nation’s good (and so each of ours) can survive, and may thrive.

Memorial Day reminds us what it takes to live in this world. May we always remember that.

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— DRGO Editor Robert B. Young, MD is a psychiatrist practicing in Pittsford, NY, an associate clinical professor at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, and a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.

All DRGO articles by Robert B. Young, MD.

Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, and it is a weekend to celebrate. So don’t let the solumenty of the event stop you from enjoying the weekend.

Especially if the weather is fine.

Because the long and short truth of it is, our fallen family would want us too. They would be enjoying it right along with us if they were here, and we do no honor to their memories by being too uptight, to critical, or to harsh at reminding others of “what the weekend is really about!”

So, Veterans, don’t get mad when someone thanks us for our service this weekend. Don’t make a self righteous post on social media admonishing the blithering idiot masses of their ignorance of the holiday… you look like a tool. Stop.

Take the thanks and gently remind them that this weekend is for the Honored Dead. Smile, and humbly accept that praise you know is for the fallen, for those fallen aren’t there to accept it. You are their arbiter, you are their representative, you are their greatest living symbols in the world. You are their comrades, their friends, their family. You are their best advocates, so be the best.

Remember your fallen, remember all the fallen and pour one out for them. Party hard and safe and free. Do what you know you would be spending the time with them on. Kicking back, grilling, shopping, hitting the water for one of the first times this year, or whatever else it is that you lived to do with those great people we have lost.

Visit them, pour one beside them, keep your rituals and your solumentiy.

But most of all…

Enjoy your weekend.

Everyone has an inherent, human right to self-defense. Here in America at least, that right is obviously frequently exercised with the use of firearms. In the gun community, we always say “the first rule of gunfighting is have a gun” – and while that’s all well and good, we should also discourage people from picking guns that are terrible for self-defense. Because let’s be honest, some guns are not good choices for self-defense. Maybe they’re poorly made, maybe they’re a gimmick, but guns like this really shouldn’t be carried as primary defensive weapons.

5. Semi-auto rimfire pistols

When was the last time you heard someone say “man, that .22 is super reliable” and they weren’t talking about a Ruger? That’s the big problem with pocket-sized .22 LR autos. First off, they’re just not that reliable. They tend to malfunction, sometimes because of ammo issues, sometimes because of feeding issues. The ammo reliability is really an issue, because rimfire ammo has less reliable ignition characteristics than centerfire rounds.

Option: pocket sized .32 ACP pistols like the Kel-Tec or Beretta Tomcat. 32 ACP is much more reliable than .22 LR, and, in the words of Ian Fleming, has a delivery like a brick through a plate glass window.

4. Derringers

I like derringers, especially as engineering artifacts. A lot of modern derringers are cleverly engineered and very nice things to have, especially the models from Bond Arms. But as actual self-defense pistols for the real world? Hard pass. Derringers are tough to shoot well, most are single action, they recoil a ton, and they don’t hold any ammo. They have all the drawbacks of a j-frame and none of the benefits. If you must, get one from Bond Arms, because Bond Arms makes legit good guns. If your derringer isn’t a Bond, it’s probably crap.

Option: A J-frame or Ruger LCR is far better choice, by miles and miles than a derringer. It’s lighter, holds more rounds, is actually easier to shoot, and you’re going to have a lot easier time finding accessories for it.

3. Gimmick guns

What’s a gimmick gun, you ask? It’s a gun that’s designed around features that don’t make it better to shoot, easier to reload, or any actual feature that you’d want to have in a defensive pistol. I don’t want to bet my life on “cool engineering,” you know? A perfect example of a gimmick gun is the infamous WASP Derringer pictured from The Matrix Reloaded, or most things that Kel-Tec makes that aren’t the P32.

Options: Buy a Glock or an M&P, don’t be a special snowflake.

2. Single-action revolvers

I love single action revolvers, but they’re not really “good” self defense choices for the average person. Because remember, the average person lives in the suburbs and drives a crossover or a pickup truck, and probably doesn’t need to shoot a bear or a mountain lion in his backyard. If you do need to shoot a bear or a lion or something, a single action revolver makes a lot of sense. However, for every day self-defense for Average Gun Bro? Not really. There’s a pretty steep learning curve on SA revolvers, from loading to firing and unloading that makes them a poor choice as a primary defensive tool.

Options: For real, get a double action revolver. If you’re hell bent on carrying something whose design was perfected in the 1800s, get a double action revolver from Ruger, Smith & Wesson, Colt, or even maybe Taurus if their QC keeps improving, and be happy.

1. Eastern Europe milsurp (other than Makarovs)
Let’s get real here for a second. If you’re buying your CCW piece with your C&R license, you need to fix yourself. The big problem with a lot of these former Combloc guns is that they weren’t designed for anything other than capping a dissident in the back of the skull at contact distances. Sure, they’re cool collector items and they’re fun to take to the range, but as a serious self-defense tool? No. Just no. Especially since a CZ-52 is pushing $300 these days, for that price if you shop smart you can get a used Glock 23, which is literally better in every possible sense of being better.

Options: Buy a Glock or an M&P, don’t be a special snowflake.

The moral of this story is that carrying a lifesaving tool because it’s cool or niche isn’t the best idea. The optimal idea is to carry a reliable gun from a reputable manufacturer that has readily available accessories and ammo. Also…since I carry a 10mm revolver, definitely do as I say, not as I do.