A holiday (or “holy day”) can, if we will only allow ourselves, be an opportunity–just once a year, folks–to take time away from our usual activities and thoughts and political views, and to look at things a little differently, to take advantage of a holy day to approach, with humility, that which can make our world better, our communities healthier, and our hopes more sustainable.

We have such an opportunity with Memorial Day. Originally, this holiday was instituted to commemorate those lives lost during the Civil War. Although this holiday was created to include both Union and Confederate soldiers, many Southern states chose not to recognize the day, instead setting up a parallel Confederate Memorial Day (in North Carolina, it is May 10).

Yet the creation of two separate Memorial Days is why this holiday is so important: today can and, I dare say, should be the day to think about the tragedy that civil strife brings upon a people. The Civil War resulted in a loss of roughly 620,000 persons (approximately 2% of the country’s entire population–which, today, would equate to OVER 6.5 MILLION PEOPLE!!!).

We live in a time of polarization and strife. We live in a time when more people are armed in America than ever before, and people are less afraid to pull the trigger if provoked. We live in a time when people will not listen to one another or respect one another, solely based upon political parties or religious affiliations. We have social media to inflame the divisions and to more quickly demonize those we either disagree with or have been tricked into disagreeing with. Strangers are no longer regarded as “friends we haven’t met yet” but are potential dangers to us and our loved ones. We further create danger through withdrawal and silence, shrugging our shoulders and distancing ourself from the entrenched disrespect that now characterizes our civic discourse.

So how about it? Why not take one day out of our year to remember (it’s Memorial Day, after all) why it’s a truly good thing that we have one another, why we must never allow divisions among us to reach the point of causing us to forget our blessings that are only possible because we share this land, and why theoretical divisions based on political ideologies are never ever worth the cost of human lives.

Just once a year, ok?