Memorial Day in Devout America
#39 of Maverick Hotel side content
Just another in-universe report I made up, detailing the state of Memorial Day in my dystopian world of Maverick Hotel.
NOTE: To avoid shitposting and political ranting in the comments, let's all just agree that you're reading this because a) you're looking for some entertainment b) you want to read a dystopian furry story or c) the most likely of reasons, you want to read something that'll make you feel like a romantic horndog. Let's all just have fun. Alright? Alright.
Memorial Day, or more colloquially known as Memorial Weekend, is a federal holiday dating back to the Old American era, as a day for mourning the country's military personnel who have died while serving in the armed forces. It is typically observed on the last Monday of May. Originally an American holiday, it has since carried over to both the Devout States and the Western Republic proper.
Although the two previous days beforehand are not technically considered national or federal holidays, Devout American families typically celebrate Saturday and Sunday as being part of Memorial Day. While Saturday is more focused on family gatherings, picnics, barbecues, etc. (especially if a family member is in the armed forces and is on active leave), Sunday is much more somber, as sermons nationwide often honor local men who died fighting in the field. Beginning from midnight going to 11:59 PM on Memorial Day evening, local television stations would replace commercials and propaganda ads with memoriam tributes dedicated to the brave D.S. soldiers, civilians, and personnel who died during the previous year due to the ongoing Second American Civil War. Families who wish to keep discreet the identities of their fallen family members can contact the local stations to edit the memoriam tributes, but only after obtaining a government letter signed by their governor. However, most Devout American families not only welcome the memoriam tributes but see it as a reminder of what's been lost.
Unsurprisingly, public citizens and soldiers of the Western Republic aren't included.
As citizens take the opportunity to visit grave sites or memorials dedicated to past and present wars, the Revenant Party itself sponsors a grand parade in Washington, D.C. This opulent parade is used as much to glorify those who lost their lives defending God's Country, as it is to promote recruitment. Elements included in the military parade depends on the events on the previous year. After the successful annexation of various Caribbean countries up to and including Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the annual parade featured actual veterans, generals, and military personnel who contributed to the occupation. Mexico's annexation led to the following year's military parade including a float featuring the new Mexican State governor elected to governing the former sovereign nation.
Otherwise, the parades include the typical marching bands, armed vehicles, hypersonic missiles on display, some armed hovercraft, and on some occasions a prominent member of the Revenant Party.
It is estimated that the Revenant Party raises the budget for the Memorial Day Parade each year by between $50,000-$75,000. This has caused some passive division amongst the more fiscally conservative party members.
Whether you live in Devout America or the Western Republic, whether you're a member of the armed forces, a politician, or a civilian of either country, they both honor the rising death and casualties of the ongoing civil war. Yet in the Western Republic, the federal holiday is seen less as a day to glorify war, but to remember the countless lives lost since 1997, when the Revenant Party seized control of what was once the United States. To this day, many across the North American continent express hope that those sacrifices would not be in vain, and one day, the Second American Civil War will finally end one day.
Who the victor of that conflict, however, is still undecided.