Alices Restaraunt

As the memorial day weekend approaches I'm reminded that, once again we'll get to be treated to the legendary, Arlo Guthrie's riveting "Alice's Restaraunt", all 27 minutes and 34 seconds of it. It's like watching a marathon. You know it's a big deal, or was at the time. It does have a tradition behind it. You just don't want to sit through it all. The story in the song is humurous, but what a set-up.
Now I'm usually someone who loves tradition. I really do. Traditions are something that reminds all of us, just who we are. Some traditions are familial and they can be modified through the generations of family members. Like my families tradition of camping on Mother's day, and Thanksgiving. These have been modified a bit lately, because my parents are not as yhoung as they used to be. We'll probably get back to the old way, just not too soon, I hope. Some traditions are national. The fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Memorial day, you get the idea. These tend to stay pretty much unchanged at the "Big Picture" level. Some small changes do occur over time, but usually only with individuals or small groups. The other category of traditions is religious or spiritual. Chistmas, Chanukka(sorry for the misspelling), Easter, Passover, etc. These don't change except by crisis. Literally. Nor should they.
I am not a big fan of telling others how they should observe their traditions. Don't thrust them on me, and you can do what you want. If it has been determined over time that a traditional day is now a holiday, so much the better. Everyone likes a paid day off. If it is a traditional day that you don't personally observe, that's fine. Just shut up and don't ruin it for everyone else. The freedom to do all of this was bought and paid for, long ago, and is still being paid today. By the men and women that we remember on Memorial day. If you don't want to honor them and their sacrifice, ok. But at least show a little respect. Don't ruin it for everyone else.
Let's all try to remember, that although we all have the right to express our opinions, not everyone is going to agree with them. Face it, an opinion is a lot like a rectum. Everybody has one. Oh, and as for "Alice's Restaraunt", can we have the edited version, PLEASE?