Memorial Day has always meant more to me than just the unofficial start of summer.

Of course, I enjoy the bar-b-ques, the baseball games and the extra day off. But I also take time to remember those who sacrificed their lives for this country. I take the time to reflect on what the day really means.

This Memorial Day felt a little different than those I remember from years past. Instead of the respect and appreciation that I normally feel for those who died. I felt a sense of deep sadness.

Sad that these brave soldiers lost their lives to protect an America that no longer exists.

My father was a World War Two veteran who was proud of his service and who loved this country. I remember spending many a Memorial Day as a young child going to parades and military graveyards with my father and his friends from the American Legion.

I’m glad my father died before Trump took over the Republican Party. My dad was a strong old-school Republican who watched a lot of Fox News in the last years of his life. But back then, Fox was more traditionally conservative and not the MAGA cheerleaders they have become today.

I’m glad I can’t ask him how he felt knowing that he risked his life at the Battle of the Bulge so that President Trump wouldn’t get audited by the IRS. I would hope that he would be outraged at the 1.776-billion-dollar slush fund to reward people who wanted to overturn a free and fair election and kill the Vice President, but there are times I have my doubts.

I’m glad I don’t know if his consumption of right-wing media would have made him a humorless old man. I wonder if he would be glad that the President was going after comedians like Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel, or sad knowing he had friends who died to give them the right to make fun of any leader.

My father was proud of our Czech heritage. I’m glad I don’t have to have discussions with him about how this administration is treating non-European immigrants. As a kid growing up in the 60’s, my dad taught me to be a strong proponent of human rights and to treat all people as equals. I have friends who tell me that their parents have changed in the age of Trump. I’m glad I don’t know if my old man would have fallen into the same trap.

Yes, Memorial Day weekend is about a lot more than taking a trip to the lake. It’s a time to honor those who have paid the ultimate price to guarantee our freedoms. Freedoms, we are gradually just giving away to a reality TV star.

This column has been a little harder for me to write than normal. My emotions are infiltrating my thought process.

This latest grift from the Conniver in Chief is just the latest step backward from forming the more perfect union our Founding Fathers envisioned. Deep down, I am outraged. I am worried and scared. I am nostalgic for the country we used to have -the country so many were willing to die for.

Hundreds of thousands have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms. Countless others have come back physically or mentally wounded. Now it’s up to us to do our part and stand up against this abuse of power. To let our voices be heard, what’s going on in our country can no longer be tolerated.

I’m somewhat encouraged that there are a few more Republican Congressmen and Senators willing to speak up after this latest move from President Trump, but there aren’t nearly enough. How many of these cowardly Republicans spent time marching in parades or putting wreaths on military graves for a photo op this weekend, but don’t have the courage to be the balance of power they are supposed to be?

Yes, this Memorial Day was different.

Sure, I spent time with family and friends. We laughed and relaxed. It was a nice weekend.

A weekend that so many young men never had a chance to enjoy. We owe them the decency to stand up and fight for our democracy before it’s too late.

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.

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