“Democracy itself is in danger.” Biden’s warning in honor of Memorial Day

(CNN) – United States President Joe Biden recalled those who died serving in the military in a speech by the Memorial Day or Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery and urged Americans to honor the fallen by strengthening and protecting the nation’s democracy.

“Democracy itself is in danger, here at home and around the world. What we do now, what we do now, how we honor the memory of the fallen will determine whether democracy will last for long, “Biden said.

The president said: “We owe the honorable deceased a debt that we can never pay in full. We owe them our souls. We owe them our best efforts to perfect the union for which they died.

Biden said the nation must honor the sacrifices of generations of service members “by upholding the best of America as we honestly confront all that we must do to make our nation fuller, freer and fairer.”

“Empathy is the fuel of democracy,” said the president. “Our willingness to see each other not as enemies, neighbors, even when we disagree, to understand what the other is going through.”

He spoke of the growing wave of autocratic governments around the world and argued, as he often does, that “liberation, opportunity and justice are much more likely to occur in a democracy than in an autocracy.”

“This nation was built on an idea, the only nation in the world built on an idea. All other nations were built on the basis of ethnicity, geography, religion, and so on. We build ourselves on an idea, the idea of ​​freedom, an opportunity for everyone, ”said Biden.

He continued: “We have never fully realized that aspiration of our foundation, but each generation has opened the door a little more and each generation has opened it more and more to be more inclusive.”

Biden said the diversity of the nation and its military has been “an incredible force,” and prominent Americans of all backgrounds, races, identities and sexual orientations have sacrificed their lives to defend the nation’s democracy.

“Remember your sacrifice, your courage and your grace,” Biden said. “Remember your smiles, your loves, your laughter, your essential vibrant and transcendent humanity.”

The president spoke about the death of his own son, Beau Biden, a veteran of the Iraq war. Sunday was the sixth anniversary of Beau Biden’s death.

“For those who mourn a loved one today, Jill and I have an idea of ​​how they feel. Our losses are not the same, but that black hole that they feel in their chest, as if it were going to suck them in, we understand, “said Biden.

He said the anniversary of his son’s death is a difficult time of year for him and his family and that he always feels close to his son on Memorial Day.

“It may hurt to remember, but pain is how we feel and how we heal,” Biden said.

Beau Biden was the Delaware attorney general and a member of the Delaware National Guard, and he died in 2015 at the age of 46 from brain cancer.

Earlier Monday, Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, participated in a placement ceremony of Offerings at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.

Last month, Biden visited the graves of US soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq at the cemetery after announcing that he was withdrawing all US troops from Afghanistan. The president said he would withdraw American soldiers from that country before 9/11, which is the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.