Memorial Day weekend has, over the years, turned in large part into something it was not originally intended to be: Seventy-two hours of barbecues and ballgames, of swimming-pool openings, of high-decibel sales pitches by merchandisers hoping to cash in on the unofficial start of summer. Which, to a degree, is understandable. The weather is turning warm, there's a holiday feel to the break from work, and the solemnity and grieving for those who gave their lives in the pursuit of peace seems to sometimes get pushed aside. But it is that pursuit of peace, with all its contradictions and all its sacrifices, that remains the centerpiece of Memorial Day. And this weekend it might be worth pausing, if only for a moment, to reflect upon a quotation that has variously been attributed to Winston Churchill and to George Orwell: We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm. Through history, peace in the world has often, of necessity, been attained by the most brutal means available during military conflict. There is a dichotomy intrinsic to wars waged in pursuit of peace -- an uneasy divide between lightness and shadows. Tranquility born of bloodshed; happiness the end result of horror. We do n't like to think too much about that, and no wonder. The truth behind it goes against our better nature. What is the