Honoring Those Who Have Died for Our Freedom

On Memorial Day, Americans honor those individuals who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

According to the website Statista, approximately 1,310,000 Americans have died while fighting for our country.

This includes Private First Class Maurice Perkey, who was killed during the battle of Iwo Jima on February 25, 1945.

Maurice Perkey is my uncle.

He died fighting for my freedoms, and for your freedoms. 

I know very little about “Maury”, as he was known to my dad, who was the younger of the two brothers. My father didn’t talk about his older brother; I do not remember having a single conversation about Uncle Maury with my dad. 

Some things are just too painful to talk about.

I do have a letter, postmarked June 1945, that was written to my grandmother by a friend of a friend of Maury. The letter was in a box of memorabilia passed on to me by my siblings after they cleaned out my mother’s possessions following her death 2012.

The writer states that a friend of Uncle Maury who was also at Iwo Jima shared that Maury was killed by a Japanese sniper. It was thought that the sniper had spotted the glint of the antenna atop the radio Maury was operating.

Maurice Perkey is one of 1,310,000 Americans who have died fighting for our country.

Uncle Maury was one of 160 Kalamazoo (MI) Central High School students who died in World War II.

For my father, Maurice was irreplaceable.

Honoring a Soldier of a Different Sort

Maybe it is just me…

Perhaps it is an affliction of the “bespoke”, self-curated information that makes its way into our awareness.

Given I have structured news feeds and subscriptions and news alerts around my interests – sports, business, leadership, creative writing – I have created my own echo chamber where I see only that which is of interest to me. 

Given the way that information is fed to us today, we can barricade ourselves from those topics that we find too painful, too uncomfortable, not of interest, for whatever reason we choose. 

So yesterday, on May 25, 2023 – why did I not see a single news item all day about the fact that it was the third anniversary of the death of George Floyd?

Shame on me.

Perhaps I didn’t see any news about the anniversary of George Floyd’s death because I have the ability to wall myself off from stories that are unsettling to me. I can flip a channel and avoid discussions about the battle for reproductive rights, or conversations about race, or anything else that makes me uncomfortable.

The writer Robin DiAngelo coined the phrase “white fragility” to describe the situation where racial stress becomes intolerable for Whites, and triggers a range of defensive moves, ranging from the display of emotion such as anger, fear, and guilt, to behaviors such as violence, and/or leaving the stress-inducing situation.

In my humble opinion, given the way that I have chosen to live my life, I think there is something bigger going on that I utilize to deal with the panoply of things that make me uncomfortable.

I call it “white sterility”.

White sterility is where I wall myself off from any contact with any type of pain or discomfort related to those less fortunate.

With “white sterility” I can ignore the absence of common sense gun laws, as that is something for somebody else to deal with, as my kids and my family have not been shot. 

With “white sterility” I can set up an environment where I can ignore people defecating on sidewalks on Peachtree Street or rummaging through trashcans for something to eat.

With “white sterility” I can set up my news feeds so that I only indulge in those things that entertain me.

Remembering that a black man died by suffocating under the knee of a police officer in Minneapolis? Who needs to be reminded of that?

I do.

You do.

We all need to be reminded of the death of George Floyd.

Not just once a year – but every day.

The Journey of an Old White Dude in the Age of Black Lives Matter

My Davidson College basketball teammate John Gerdy was the all-time leading scorer for the Davidson Wildcats until some kid named Steph Curry happened upon the scene.

Gerd was never shy about taking a shot.

In his new book, The Journey of an Old White Dude in the Age of Black Lives Matter, Gerd tells the story of his awakening to the issues of race as it relates to his life. He writes of the work that he has put into educating himself on the topic of race and diversity, equity, and inclusion. As we join his journey, Gerd shares with us the unique and creative actions he and others have taken to address racial injustice and to create the opportunity for progress and change on this topic.

I found The Journey of an Old White Dude in the Age of Black Lives Matter to be informative, thoughtful, instructive, and entertaining.

By taking a shot at himself – Gerd has scored yet again.

Well done!