It is for us the living ... to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion ... that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.

President Abraham Lincoln

The Gettysburg Address

This immortal message, not camping trips or music festivals or backyard barbeques, is what Memorial Day is all about.

An estimated 500 people gathered at Washington Memorial Park in SeaTac last Monday to honor America's war dead, and with them our living veterans and active service men and women.

Some who attended described the observance as moving and inspirational. I plan to go next year.

On this Memorial Day, I paused to remember those who have served our nation by reading Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose and listening to an insightful radio presentation by Seattle's Michael Medved.

Mr. Medved did a masterful job correcting three negative myths about the Vietnam War -- a central conflict in the Cold War that America did not lose on the battlefield but in the other Washington.

As the holiday wound down, someone suggested we need to focus again on remembering by observing Memorial Day as it once was - on May 30, regardless of the day of the week.

America, it has been said, is "not the land of the free and the home of the brave. It's the land of the free because of the brave."

Our brave men and women in uniform, past and present, living and dead, deserve no less than our undivided attention on Memorial Day. This is an idea whose time has come.

As I greeted State Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, when she stopped by the Times/News' office for a recent interview, she asked, "Why are you picking on me?"

For the record, as I explained to Sen. Keiser, I've not picked on her and only focused on certain political differences.

She is, after all, a liberal politician, while I am a conservative columnist.

Sen. Keiser also faces a challenge in her bid for re-election this year from 33rd Legislative District Republican chairman Karen Steele of Des Moines, who is putting together a well-organized, well-financed campaign.

Too many Republicans and Democrats alike, including elected officials and party leaders, take exception to tough questions. But politics is hardball, not slow-pitch softball.

When these politicians find this give-and-take not to their liking, some refuse to field questions - ignoring the advice of President Harry Truman: "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."

Sen. Keiser, to her credit, did provide an answer to each questions posed by the Times/News editorial board.

In Western Washington, where liberal politicians and liberal reporters alike outnumber their counterparts on the right, tough questions and commentary by conservatives bring an essential balanced public discourse.

Last week my chivalrous newsroom colleague, editor Eric Mathison, was so quick to jump to the defense of Sen. Keiser and other elected officials in the wake of recent columns by me that I wondered if he had become a spokesman for the Washington State Democratic Party!

Eric referred to my "tired refrain about 'tax-and-spend Democrats.'"

But it is we, the taxed, who are tired of paying more every year for more programs. Government cannot be all things for all people.

As Washington voters count these costs, they may reconsider who to send to Olympia.

Ralph Nichols' views are his own, and do not necessarily reflect those of Robinson Newspapers. He can be reached at newsdesk@robinsonnews.com or 206-388-1857.