The third Saturday of May is Armed Forces Day, a day of appreciation for those on active duty. Memorial Day commemorates those who have died in national service, and Veterans’ Day honors those who have completed their tour of duty. While patriotism can be overdone and politicized, I understand a day of appreciation for those on active duty.
Small gestures are also offered throughout the year. Active duty personnel get early seat assignments on planes. Some are greeted with “Thank you for your service,” or an unexpected gift of coffee. Sporting events feature active or retired members of the military, and there is a special box to check on many government forms.
Those are nice, but frankly as a nation we should do more for those who risk their lives for this country. Compensation and housing for the military should be improved. The Veterans Administration ought to be better funded, to better serve its constituency, especially homeless vets. A personal gift of a cup of coffee means little compared to these.
Since 9/11, the armed forces have shared the podium’s top step with first responders. In the aftermath of that terrorist attack, these responders received similar honors, and are still recognized publicly and with some small but meaningful gestures. Even so, I haven’t seen firefighters get prime seating on planes, or filled out a form with a box asking, “Have you ever served as a paramedic?”
But then coronavirus happened. Suddenly doctors, nurses, and staff took the top step of the podium. The heroism of medical professionals’ was on full display for the country to see. The prophet Isaiah says of the Suffering Servant, whom Christians identify with Jesus, “with his stripes we will be healed (53:5).” Every image of healthcare workers with angry red indents on their faces from the masks they don shows us those stripes as never before.
Admittedly, doctors on average are far better compensated than the military or first responders. But make no mistake, they are risking far more than any signed up for. And doctors make up only a small portion of the health workforce. This goes beyond hospitals or direct medical care. There is no checkbox for, “Did you clean rooms after coronavirus treatments?” The top podium step needs more room.
Will we celebrate ̶ and appropriately compensate ̶ delivery people, or clerks stocking shelves, or teachers, now that we have to admit how “essential” they are? And how much we need them? Our lives depend on immigrants too frequently demeaned, who risk their lives for the pennies they receive picking produce we buy, or cleaning the rooms in which our loved ones live.
Days like “Armed Forces Day” are minor holidays, “holiday” being an abbreviated version of “Holy Day.” A holy day is one set aside to commemorate a person or a moment pointing toward God’s work in the world. Through God, someone or some event is valued and warrants remembrance. But we are now forced to recognize that we need to value and remember many more people than we have.
There is no podium. “All the world is a stage” but no man or woman is “merely” a player. “Essential worker” once signified the few and influential, but now we must finally admit that many overlooked and unappreciated persons are essential to our well-being.
Jesus extolled the value of every human being (Matthew 6:26). Abraham Lincoln realized the value of those enslaved, that they should be free. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of street sweepers in the same breath with Michelangelo and Beethoven, and died while supporting sanitation workers.
Crises make us to realize that every day is a holy day, to be valued and remembered. No day is guaranteed. In the same way, every person should be valued and honored. We don’t need a checkbox for “special service,” because a healthy and faithful perspective recognizes that we are all “essential.”
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