"... We’re not far off from the time when the last living voices of those who
fought and bled on D-Day will no longer be with us. So, we have a
special obligation. We cannot let what happened here be lost in the
silence of the years to come. We must remember it, must honor it, and
live it.
"And we must remember: The fact that they were heroes here that day does not absolve us from what we have to do today.
"Democracy is never guaranteed. Every generation must preserve it, defend it, and fight for it. That’s the test of the ages.
"In
memory of those who fought here, died here, literally saved the world
here, let us be worthy of their sacrifice. Let us be the generation
that when history is written about our time — in 10, 20, 30, 50, 80
years from now — it will be said: When the moment came, we met the
moment. We stood strong. Our alliances were made stronger. And we
saved democracy in our time as well." -- President Biden, speaking yesterday at 80th anniversary of D-Day ceremonies at the Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer, France.
____________________
" ... Biden addressed the bitter irony that haunted the commemoration ceremonies. While D-Day occurred eight decades ago, America is now just five months from an election that could bring to power a man and a movement who embody and celebrate the twisted authoritarian values of the enemies we sought to defeat so long ago.
"Fascism has not gone away. The tactics of the Nazis to employ racism and demagoguery to divide society and enable their seizure of power and their gutting of democratic institutions currently are the playbook of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement. [snip]
"And the implicit message for those who understand where we are today is that our generation faces a test just like those faced by our parents and grandparents in the 1930s and 1940s. How (and even whether) future memorial exercises will take place on the bluffs overlooking the beaches of Normandy will be determined by how we respond to that test.
"Unlike prior generations, however, we are fortunate. Thanks to them, at least right now, at least in the United States, we do not have to lay down our lives to defeat fascism. All we have to do is take the threat seriously and do our duty as citizens by voting.
"There could be no greater dishonor done to those who died on D-Day and around the world in World War II than to allow authoritarianism and fascism to triumph in November after so many had sacrificed so much so many years ago to defeat them." -- David Rothkopf, The Daily Beast, on Biden's text and subtext, reminding us of the imminent danger we face as we fight to save democracy in the very country those D-Day veterans were fighting for.
