---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Memorial Day should be a day for putting…"
description: "\"Memorial Day should be a day for putting flowers on graves and planting trees. Also, for destroying the weapons of death that endanger us more than the..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bd/howard-zinn-576_children_memorial-day-should-be-a-day-for-putting_2374944.jpg"
---

#  Memorial Day should be a day for putting flowers on graves…

![“Memorial Day should be a day for putting flowers on graves and planting trees. Also, for destroying the weapons of death that endanger us more than they protect us, that waste our resources and threaten our children and grandchildren.” quote by Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bd/howard-zinn-576_children_memorial-day-should-be-a-day-for-putting_2374944.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bd/howard-zinn-576_children_memorial-day-should-be-a-day-for-putting_2374944.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bd/howard-zinn-576_children_memorial-day-should-be-a-day-for-putting_2374944.jpg)

> “Memorial Day should be a day for putting flowers on graves and planting trees. Also, for destroying the weapons of death that endanger us more than they protect us, that waste our resources and threaten our children and grandchildren.”

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote calls for Memorial Day to honor the dead, protect nature, and eliminate harmful weapons.

**In simple terms:** Honor the dead, protect nature, end weapons.

Key Takeaway

Promote peace and environmental stewardship.

Themes

peace environment remembrance

Mood

hopeful determined

Type

activist inspirational

When to use this quote

- memorial services
- tree planting events
- peace protests

Key Concepts

war ecology memory activism

Questions to Reflect On

- How can communities replace militarism with peace?
- What actions can you take to support environmental remembrance?

A Different Perspective

Implementation may face political resistance.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Children and grandchildren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-and-grandchildren/) [Destroying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Grandchildren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandchildren/) [Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graves/) [Memorial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memorial/) [Memorial day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memorial-day/) [Our children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-children/) [Planting Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planting-trees/) [Protect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protect/) [Putting Flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/putting-flowers-3656643/) [Resources](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resources/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Trees Destroying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees-destroying-5862268/) [Waste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste/) [Weapons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapons/) [Weapons Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapons-death-5862267/)

## Related quotes

> [Instead of putting flowers in books to flatten them you can use a brick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-mckay/instead-of-putting-flowers-in-books-to-flatten-them-you-can-use-a/)

[Nicole McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-mckay/)

> [Memorial Day will be celebrated ... by the usual betrayal of the dead, by the hypocritical patriotism of the politicians and contractors preparing for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/memorial-day-will-be-celebrated-by-the-usual-betrayal-of-the-dead-by/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [No one can reap the fruit before planting the trees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luiz-inacio-lula-da-silva/no-one-can-reap-the-fruit-before-planting-the-trees/)

[Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luiz-inacio-lula-da-silva/)

> [Schoolchildren and older people like the idea of planting trees. For children, it's interesting that an acorn will grow into an oak, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-anderson/schoolchildren-and-older-people-like-the-idea-of-planting-trees-for/)

[Clive Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-anderson/)

> [“What happened? It took Gibbon six volumes to describe the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, so I shan’t embark on that. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/what-happened-it-took-gibbon-six-volumes-to-describe-the-decline-and/)

[Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/)

> [I've been busy for years, buying land, often under pseudonyms, and planting trees on it. All the money is going into it when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/i-ve-been-busy-for-years-buying-land-often-under-pseudonyms-and/)

[Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/)

> [Sometimes leadership is planting trees under whose shade you'll never sit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-granholm/sometimes-leadership-is-planting-trees-under-whose-shade-you-ll-never-2/)

[Jennifer Granholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-granholm/)

> [I think if conservatives spent more time planting trees the world would be a better place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/i-think-if-conservatives-spent-more-time-planting-trees-the-world/)

[Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/)

> [When you buy carbon offsets, you pay to take planet-warming carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere in exchange for the greenhouse gases you put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/when-you-buy-carbon-offsets-you-pay-to-take-planet-warming-carbon/)

[Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/)

> [We are not insisting on planting trees just because of global warming. Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam insist on the necessity of trees. Especially in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek/we-are-not-insisting-on-planting-trees-just-because-of-global-warming/)

[Vivek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek/)

> [When I first started, it was really an innocent response to the needs of women in rural areas. When we started planting trees to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/when-i-first-started-it-was-really-an-innocent-response-to-the-needs/)

[Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/)

> [Sometimes leadership is planting trees under whose shade you'll never sit. It may not happen fully till after I'm gone. But I know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-granholm/sometimes-leadership-is-planting-trees-under-whose-shade-you-ll-never/)

[Jennifer Granholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-granholm/)

> [You have to be open to change. I never stop making sure that what I say is the best of what could be said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stewart/you-have-to-be-open-to-change-i-never-stop-making-sure-that-what-i/)

[Martha Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stewart/)

> [I have grown up on a diet of sunrise picnics, learning the names of butterflies, planting trees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-have-grown-up-on-a-diet-of-sunrise-picnics-learning-the-names-of/)

[Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/)

> [“Planting trees, I myself thought for a long time, was a feel-good thing, a nice but feeble response to our litany of modern-day environmental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-robbins/planting-trees-i-myself-thought-for-a-long-time-was-a-feel-good-thing/)

[Jim Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-robbins/)

## More by Howard Zinn

> [“A black man, Benjamin Banneker, who taught himself mathematics and astronomy, predicted accurately a solar eclipse, and was appointed to plan the new city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/a-black-man-benjamin-banneker-who-taught-himself-mathematics-and/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/there-is-no-flag-large-enough-to-cover-the-shame-of-killing-innocent/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [“a good education is a synthesis of book learning and involvement in social action, because each enrich the other. The accumulation of knowledge, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/a-good-education-is-a-synthesis-of-book-learning-and-involvement-in/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [The mountain of history books under which we all stand leans so heavily in the other direction-so tremblingly respectful of states and statesmen and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/the-mountain-of-history-books-under-which-we-all-stand-leans-so/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [Let's face a historical truth: we have never had a "free market", we have always had government intervention in the economy, and indeed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/let-s-face-a-historical-truth-we-have-never-had-a-free-market-we-have/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [I can UNDERSTAND pessimism, but I don't BELIEVE in it. It's not simply a matter of faith, but of historical EVIDENCE. Not overwhelming evidence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-can-understand-pessimism-but-i-don-t-believe-in-it-it-s-not-simply/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it. It is a corrective to the sluggishness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/protest-beyond-the-law-is-not-a-departure-from-democracy-it-is/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [Now I have been studying very closely what happens every day in the courts in Boston, Massachusetts. You would be astounded--maybe you wouldn't, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/now-i-have-been-studying-very-closely-what-happens-every-day-in-the/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [They were not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, they were absent in the Constitution and they were invisible in the new political democracy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/they-were-not-mentioned-in-the-declaration-of-independence-they-were/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [“Sexual purity was to be the special virtue of a woman. It was assumed that men, as a matter of biological nature, would sin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/sexual-purity-was-to-be-the-special-virtue-of-a-woman-it-was-assumed/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [“Middle-class Americans might be invited to join a new elite by attacks against the corruption of the established rich. The New Yorker Cadwallader Colden,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/middle-class-americans-might-be-invited-to-join-a-new-elite-by/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [If those in charge of our society - politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television - can dominate our ideas, they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/if-those-in-charge-of-our-society-politicians-corporate-executives/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [We were not born critical of existing society. There was a moment in our lives (or a month, or a year) when certain facts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-were-not-born-critical-of-existing-society-there-was-a-moment-in/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [Behind the deceptive words designed to entice people into supporting violence -- words like democracy, freedom, self-defense, national security -- there is the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/behind-the-deceptive-words-designed-to-entice-people-into-supporting/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [“George Washington had turned down the requests of blacks, seeking freedom, to fight in the Revolutionary army. So when the British military commander in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/george-washington-had-turned-down-the-requests-of-blacks-seeking/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

[Explore all 461 Howard Zinn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

## More Children quotes

> [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/)

[Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

> [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/)

[Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/)

> [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/)

[Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/)

> [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/)

[Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/)

> [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/)

[Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/)

> [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/)

[Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/)

> [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/)

[Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/)

> [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/)

[Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/)

> [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/)

[Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/)

> [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/)

[Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/)

> [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/)

[Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/)

> [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/)

[Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/)

> [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/)

[Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/)

[Browse all 62,396 Children quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Memorial Day should be a day for putting flowers on graves and planting trees. Also, for destroying the weapons of death that endanger us more than they protect us, that waste our resources and threaten our children and grandchildren.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Howard Zinn"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/memorial-day-should-be-a-day-for-putting-flowers-on-graves-and/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Children"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/memorial-day-should-be-a-day-for-putting-flowers-on-graves-and/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bd/howard-zinn-576_children_memorial-day-should-be-a-day-for-putting_2374944.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bd/howard-zinn-576_children_memorial-day-should-be-a-day-for-putting_2374944.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bd/howard-zinn-576_children_memorial-day-should-be-a-day-for-putting_2374944.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Memorial Day should be a day for putting flowers on graves and planting trees. Also, for destroying the…” — Howard Zinn",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Howard Zinn",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Memorial Day should be a day...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/memorial-day-should-be-a-day-for-putting-flowers-on-graves-and/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/memorial-day-should-be-a-day-for-putting-flowers-on-graves-and/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
