As we approach the dawn of our 250th year as a nation, we would be remiss if we did not take time to reflect on the sacrifices of those countless ancestors who gave their lives to help bring us to this point.

We find it particularly poignant at this time that the prototypes for Memorial Day were originally created in honor of the Union soldiers who died during the Civil War — a stark reminder that, were it not for their backs and their lives, the United States would never have made it to its 100th birthday, let alone its 250th.

In our modern moment of great division, high emotions and politically-stoked disregard for our fellow Americans, who may look, think, believe or love differently than we do, it is worth remembering the lessons of history.

Recall this grim past, and let it serve as a warning to a future we wish to never see.

The Civil War was a bloody four years, resulting in — according to the National Park Service — 642,427 Union casualties and 483,026 Confederate casualties. That’s over a million dead American soldiers, not including the estimated thousands of civilians.

When extremists on both sides of the aisle call for a national divorce, it is either in ignorance of this horror or in spite of it. There are no other options.

And, even worse: that heinous suggestion spits in the face of the hundreds of thousands of American casualties in the wars since, which have resulted in our current seat at the world table.

Our modern world is built on the sacrifices of those who came before.

Honoring those sacrifices is the least we can do. Most holidays these days are regarded as days of rest or relaxation, with little mind paid to the holiday’s original intention.

Memorial Day, in particular, was always meant to be a day of tears, not a day of celebration.

And while the world sees enough tragedy these days to not want to spend a rare day off work for more tears, we would still encourage our readers to spend at least some time this weekend on somber reflection.

Without remembering and honoring the past, we doom the future — and, at this time of change and crossroads for the world, we need all the help we can get to create a future better than what came before it — the dream of a better world for those who follow…the dream so many have died to keep alive.