Pres.Obama proclaims May 1 as Loyalty Day

[LiberalEsto]

19. Loyalty Day dates back to 1921

"Loyalty Day originally began as "Americanization Day" in 1921 to counter the Communists' May 1 celebration of the Russian Revolution. Through a resolution adopted in 1949, May 1 evolved into Loyalty Day. Observances began in 1950 on April 28 and climaxed May 1 when more than five million people across the nation held rallies. In 1958, Congress enacted Public Law 529 proclaiming Loyalty Day a permanent fixture on the nation's calendar."

From: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/04/vfw_to_observe_loyalty_day_wed.html

Loyalty Day became a big deal to the far right during the Vietnam war and was used to oppose people who protested the war.

I remember being invited by an Estonian-American girl scout troop I belonged to to march in a Loyalty Day parade in New York City in the late 1960s. I was about 15. About five minutes after we started marching, I realized what the event was about, got totally disgusted and left the parade. What triggered my decision was seeing an old veteran attack a teenage anti-war protester on the sidelines. With absolutely no provocation except seeing the kid's peace sign, the old guy started spitting and punching, and had to be pulled off the kid by other marching veterans.

It was then that I realized my own values (and to extent, my parents') were very different from most of the Estonian-American community. A few years later I got kicked out of the NY Estonian House for wearing a jacket with an anti-war symbol. It was more than 35 years before I found a few liberals among my generation. It still bothers me tremendously when I see what knee-jerk Republicans many of the others are, even though Bill Clinton did a hell of a lot more to help Estonia regain its freedom than Nixon, Ray-gun or Bush 1 ever did.